Page 24 of Beehives and Broken Heroes

She opened her glove compartment and pulled out a little makeup emergency kit she’d always kept stored there. She reapplied her mascara and put on a fire-engine-red lipstick.

“I’m sorry we didn’t have time to get back to Harvest Ranch and change before the party,” Jo said.

Allie shrugged. “Please, like we need to freshen up. We’re the Ward sisters.”

They hopped out and walked arm in arm into the club, the sounds of twanging guitars, stomping feet, and dulcet vocals drawing them in. They were about fifteen minutes late, and their friends were already there.

They stopped inside the door and took in the scene. On the left, there were a few tables and benches, and up close to the door, a crowd gathered around a mechanical bull with a rider on it. To the right, a bar lined the middle third of the wall between two large booths. Cash stood there with Hudson, the oldest of the Slade brothers, and Kathy and Jessie. The girls waved, drawing Cash’s attention. He made a beeline for Jo through the throng.

“Crowded tonight!” Jo yelled over the music.

Allie nodded. Just the way she liked it. On the dance floor, below exposed metal beams and a disco ball, Allie spotted Swayzie Westbrook slow-dancing, despite the fast music and because of an ace wrap around her ankle, with her new fiancé, Lucky Preston. He was somewhat of a celebrity around these parts for all his time on the rodeo circuit and being a world-champion bronc rider . . .. Allie had been a little surprised to hear how fast they’d gotten engaged, but now that she saw the guy, she totally got it.

Then Allie wondered if she could get him on the mechanical bull … That’d be awesome!

In a booth in a darkened corner, Allie also spotted Wyatt and Steph Westbrook cuddled together in a booth. Wow, there were so many Westbrooks here. That was awesome. She hadn’t known they were coming, and it was a welcome sight. The more, the merrier. Allie also spotted the Slade twins, Porter and Nash, and their little brother dancing with her cousins Cecilia, Caroline, and Maggie May. The Slades were slapping their knees and whipping the girls around, spinning and flipping them and having a blast.

Cash reached Allie and Jo, yanked Jo into his arms, and planted a deep kiss on her. Allie turned her stare back on the dance floor to give them some privacy.

“I was starting to worry about you two,” Cash spoke loudly.

“I got my dress.” Jo smiled from ear to ear.

Cash gave her a naughty grin. “Do you have pictures?”

“None that you’ll see,” Jo returned.

Allie kept her eye on the dance floor, trying to pick out other friends, and caught sight of her cousin, Diana, dancing with some big guy in a black cowboy hat. Diana was laughing.

Diana. Her curmudgeonly, Bible app quoting, old for her twenty-three years cousin.

Diana’s partner spun her out and stepped to the side, and Allie got a good look at him—even with his hat blocking half his face.

It was Brandon. In all his tall, muscular glory. He spun Diana back in and dropped her into a quick dip before whipping her back up and out into another spin. Man, he could dance. He did a quick lift, one that had little to do with Diana’s dancing ability and everything to do with his, and Allie’s insides turned to warm, ooey, gooey mush as Diana let out a peal of laughter.

Was there anything hotter than a man who knew how to dance like a boss and could make a crabby cousin laugh like that? No, she was pretty sure there wasn’t.

She felt herself staring and just couldn’t be bothered to care. He wasn’t broken. Why had he even said that? And why did it break her heart that he had? He glanced up, his gaze meeting hers across the club. His lips quirked up on the side, and a pleasant shiver rushed down her spine. A split second later, he turned from her as he maneuvered Diana into another fancy turn.

After Allie had invited him, she’d told herself it was just as friends. Friends or not, she was dancing with that man tonight if it was the last thing she did.

In a purely platonic way, that is.

* * *

A couple hours later, and Allie had danced with everyone, it seemed, but Brandon. She didn’t think he was intentionally avoiding her, except that that was exactly what she thought. He’d danced with most of the ladies in their party, including all of her cousins and Jo. The most Allie had gotten out of him was a quick squeeze that’d tested her willpower when he’d pulled away, his stubbled cheek brushing across hers and a soft “happy birthday” in her ear.

Of course, she’d danced a bunch too. The Slades wouldn’t hear otherwise—she was glad she’d told Cash to invite them. They really knew how to have fun at a party. But now, several twangy, hootenanny, gritty dances later, it’d gotten downright hot. So, while her three younger cousins and the Slades moved right into the next song along with Jo and Cash, and Brandon was pulled onto the floor with some woman Allie didn’t know, Allie escaped for a breather.

Allie, Jessie, Caroline, Steph, Swayzie, and Presley Westbrook, who’d snuck in a while ago, huddled at the bar waiting for refills on their colas. Wyatt had challenged Lucky to a game of pool, and the two men had disappeared upstairs to where the tables were. If they hadn’t, Allie was sure she wouldn’t have seen head nor tail of Swayzie or Steph except being wrapped up in the gents’ arms.

Jessie fanned herself. “Why don’t we do this more often?”

“It’s been so fun, hasn’t it?” Caroline asked. Out of the group of them, she was the only one who looked fresh as a newly picked daisy: hair exactly in place, no sweat anywhere in sight, with a lovely rose hue to her cheeks. If Allie didn’t know Caroline and her friendly and giving nature, she might loathe her a little.

“I might start coming every week,” said Presley, the woman who was the mastermind behind Choco Latte’s amazing signature cocoas, as she fanned herself with her hand.

Mo, the owner and bartender, sat down a stack of plastic glasses and two pitchers of ice water before winking and going to work on their drinks.

---