Nowhere Ranch by Heidi Cullinan

no way I was gonna last.
    But I got a bit of my pride back in the end, because when the meal was over and the bills came, I picked up them both and paid them, and when she tried to object, I said, “It's my first payment for the lessons.”
    It was worth it to see her beam like that. Deep down I was still pretty sure they were never gonna take, but part of me tucked away a little bit of hope too.
    I wasn't able to plead sick and get back home to my brownies and bottle of wine. In fact, I didn't even try. It was actually pretty fun to hang out with Haley once I got used to how intense she was. We started at the bar called Sid's Place, where I steadfastly refused to sing any karaoke, so of course I ended up singing it anyway. Haley laughed and clapped and hooted, and actually so did a few other people. I threw in some air guitar too for good measure.
    She was really sweet. She even deflected the girls who tried to flirt with me by hanging on my arm. I was a little nervous at first that she was actually coming on to me, but when she started murmuring in my ear about which guys had the hottest asses, I relaxed a little. She did know how to pick them too. One of them I even thought, maybe, was giving me the eye. But I wasn't into that, not tonight. Okay, I would like to be into that tonight, especially after all that beer, but I was having fun with Haley. The cowboy could wait.
    Haley dragged me up a few more times for karaoke. I was up to six beers by then, but she was stone-cold sober because she'd had nothing but Diet Pepsi all night. Said she was my driver and that was her job. She started picking up my tab too, but I decided I would get her back later.
    She had a real thing for the Dixie Chicks, and I think we hit every song of theirs on the machine. I always did like singing, especially the harmony, and I knew the songs so it was easy. The audience liked us, and I really laid into it, taking the melody, hamming it up like hell, even swiveling my hips a few times. I don't know quite what had come over me. I think between the alcohol and how unlike me all this was that the parts of my brain that keep me in line just didn't know what the hell to do.
    Though when I caught sight of Travis in the back of the bar, all my guards went right back up again.
    Jesus, but he looked good. I suppose he just looked the same as always, just a nicer shirt and black jeans and his tan Stetson, but holy shit. I couldn't look at him because I knew he would be able to see everything, and so would everybody else. We were singing a song now I didn't know as well, so I had to really focus on the words and try to anticipate the melody and the harmony both. It was hard because all I could think of was that Travis was in the back of the room listening to me sing, watching me. I made it through that song, but when it was done I told Haley I needed to take a break.
    Travis came over to our table, and of course Haley told him to sit down and join us.
    She might have been right about me and the sensory stuff, because oh my God, the scent of him wrapped all around me, and not just the splash of cologne he had put on. I could smell his skin. I remembered what it tasted like too, and even with all the beer, I felt the memory on my tongue. I kept trying not to look at him, but I kept stealing glances. He was always looking at me too.
    I began to wonder if this was going to lead to sex again. I really hoped it would.
    I should have figured that Haley would pick up on what was going on between us. She chatted Travis up, but I could sense the plot forming in her brain. This time I actually kind of wanted to cheer her on.
    Eventually we moved on over to the Bronco, Travis beside me as we walked down the sidewalk. When I staggered, he righted me, and after several stumbles he just held on to my arm. His grip was strong and sure, and it made my head spin worse than what the alcohol was doing. I knew I should get home and get to bed because I had to work early in the