Page 4 of A Cowboy's Bride
“Fine.” Petra couldn’t stop grinning. They knew her too well. “I hope to sleep until seven, but knowing my bratty brother, he’ll probably stand outside my cabin window and crow like a rooster at five.”
“Really?” Tansy hummed thoughtfully. “Let me know if I need to doctor his coffee the next time he comes in. Just a little retribution—that kind of thing.”
“You’re the best. I promise to let you know if it’s necessary.” Petra held up her pinkie, and Tansy laughingly linked their hands together.
Yup. Moving to Heart Falls was exactly what Petra had needed.
Jobwise, she was a skilled computer programmer. That, plus the other slightly less-legal vigilante adventures she’d been working on for the past year kept her busy. Yet both of those were tasks she could do anywhere.
What she needed the most right now were friends who liked her for herself.
Inside the pub, the dark wood and western style settings were welcoming yet intimate, with room to dance and room to chat. Tansy guided her and Petra to their favourite spot on the edge of the dance floor and settled in to examine the potential dance partners available that evening.
Tansy’s running monologue of who was in attendance made Petra snicker. “Matt is a solid seven. Tony counts his steps, but he’s a nine if you don’t try to talk while on the floor. Joey is a seven, eight if he’s had a few drinks?—”
“And Jeb is a ten if you want to dance right now.” A tall cowboy with a cheeky smile stood before Petra. “Hey, pretty lady. Long time no see. Want to take a spin?”
Petra leaned around him to grin at her friends. “Thanks for the play-by-play, but I think I’ll go with this one first, no matter how he rates on the Tansy Dance Scale.”
Both Tansy and Sydney offered a thumbs-up before going back to their calculating.
Petra stepped into the cowboy’s arms and let him take the lead.
The quick pace of the current song didn’t encourage chatting, which was fine. Petra needed this tonight. A chance to exercise her body without her mind whirling through possibilities and mistakes and goals for the future.
Because they were all there. The good and the bad and the impossible.
Right now was the time to establish a new attitude. Which meant shoving aside the sadness in her belly to keep it from dragging her down. The change in her relationship situation wasn’t going to be an easy thing to simply ignore, though.
Not tonight. Not here and now. Do not dwell on it.
Maybe if she told herself that firmly enough she’d eventually follow her own excellent advice.
She was on the dance floor with only her second partner when someone near the bar roared loud enough to grab the attention of everyone in the place. Mid-twirl in a rapid two-step, Petra didn’t catch all the details, but it looked as if an argument had broken out.
Her dance partner jerked to the side, letting go of her in the process. Petra stumbled, struggling to keep her feet. The fighting cowboys surged onto the dance floor even as other men rushed forward to try to break them apart.
With curses flying and fists swinging nearby, Petra didn’t know which way to turn. When one of the cowboys trying to break up the fight stepped suddenly to the right, Petra was slammed broadside with full force, her balance still too shaky to recover. She tumbled, bracing herself to hit the floor.
Instead, she found herself being swung upward, a firm grip around her back and under her thighs as she flew into the air away from the action.
Relief flooded in, and she curled herself tighter against her rescuer. She looped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in the crook of his neck until he stopped moving. “Are we safe now?”
“Think so.”
“ThankGod.”
She’d said it with conviction, but his answering chuckle seemed bigger than it should be. “No problem, Petra.”
Her heart gave a kick as memories rushed in. That voice?—
That touch.
Petra lifted her gaze and stared into the face of the man she’d enjoyed a one-night stand with on the night of Zach and Julia’s wedding.
“Holy cow. Aiden?”
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