Page 81 of The Cowgirl's Secret Love
Her sister, Tansy, rolled her eyes. Karen laughed.
“You know what she did?” Tansy asked.
Karen nodded. “Come on. I’m pretty sure there’re guys willing to dance even if you didn’t purchase them.”
The crowd gathered around the far side of the yard. Karen went to where Finn stood talking with a beaming Brad. The newlywed had his arm banded tight around Hanna as if he had no intention of letting her go any time soon.
“Brad and Hanna.” Brad’s father, Patrick, weaved across the distance where he stood next to a set of speakers. “It’s time for you to break in the new dance floor.”
The newlyweds stepped onto the low wooden platform constructed outdoors. Brad led Hanna to the middle. He caught her fingers and kissed them before pulling her into his arms as the beginning strains of music drifted over the air.
Finn tucked an arm around Karen, bringing her close as his heat slid against her.
Brad and Hanna danced slowly, eyes fixed on each other as if there weren’t another person for miles around. Sheer love in their expressions.
Little Crissy came running from the side. She threw herself at the two of them and clung on tight like a kitten.
With a huge laugh, Brad lifted the child into the air. He gave her a kiss before adjusting position to hold Crissy as well as Hanna.
The three of them danced, officially starting their life together.
The music changed, and Finn twisted Karen against him, swaying slightly while more people made their way onto the dance floor to join Brad and Hanna.
“Finn.”
“I’d love this dance.” He held her perfectly, that connection rising like always. Far from the crowd and in their own private world.
Why on earth would she complain when this was exactly what she needed? The tension in her belly wasn’t the type she got from wanting to run away. It was a knot like a person got when they wanted to say words that were big and important. Words that were true down to the core of her soul.
Like love. Like forever. She held those back, mostly.
“This dance and all the rest you want.” It wasn’t a confession of how she felt, but it was close.
His grip tightened, then his lips were on her temple, kissing her sweet and light. “I’m holding you to that.”
She was ready to let go and trust. Maybe it wouldn’t work in the end, but like he’d said, if they didn’t aim at what they wanted, they’d never find out.
18
Finn and Karen abandoned the party just after midnight.
Zach was still on the dance floor with Rose, along with a half dozen other diehards who looked ready to dance the night away.
Karen was quiet on the drive home, which in a way was good because Finn’s brain was whirling in a million different directions.
His leg had healed enough that dealing with the cast was the worst part. He was no longer popping painkillers like jellybeans, which meant what was rattling in his brain couldn’t be explained away by confusion or chemicals.
He’d started the summer with the intention of being with Karen no matter what it took, wherever the journey led. The way she’d leaned against him this evening, giving every indication she was ready to get fully on board—
He actually hadn’t expected that miracle to take place until sometime in the fall. They were both stubborn, and they had baggage. Their time years ago had been sweet, but more like a solid base than a settling of roots.
Fuck it, did he even know how to grow roots? All he knew was he wanted to be with her. It was time to tell her that again.
Karen turned off well before the road to what eventually would be Red Boot ranch. She glanced toward him. “I have something to show you. If you haven’t been there already, that is.”
He mentally calculated where they were and figured it out pretty quick. “The lookout over Heart Falls pool?”
She nodded. “This time of year, it’s pretty. It’s only a short walk to the bench.”
