Page 55 of Reckoning with the Cowboy
“What kind of commitment is it going to take?” she asked in the elevator as they rode up to their rooms.
“Aren’t you a lawyer?” he asked.
“You need something legally binding?” she asked, looking over at him to see if he was serious.
“I’m sure we can pound out the details over a drink later,” he said without meeting her gaze.
As the elevator door opened, he handed her the key to her room. “Let me know if you need anything. Just knock on the door between the rooms when you’re ready to go to the pool. We can go together.”
She took the key, her mind on what he’d said earlier. Was he talking marriage before they slept together again? It wasn’t like they hadn’t already had sex when they were younger. They hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other. They’d made love on a blanket in the woods, in the grass down by the river, on a towel on the dock at the lake—everywhere but in a bed. Even on the tailgate of his pickup truck.
What he was suggesting surprised her. It was as if her bad boy had grown up and wanted everything that came with it.
Opening her bag, she pulled out the black swimsuit. It had been six years since she’d worn it. Josie remembered the last time as she pulled it on again. She shivered at the memory since it was also the last time she saw Cordell for six long years.
She felt sick at the thought that he might disappear again after this weekend. Wasn’t that her fear? Did she trust that he was truly back?
Her skin felt prickled at memory of Cordell’s breath on her neck as he came up behind her at their swimming hole. His fingertips brushed across her shoulder and down to the hollow between her breasts.
She straightened, but the memory stayed with her. It had been too long since she’d felt his touch on her bare skin. She ached for it, just as she ached for him. But how far would she go to get what she wanted?
Or more to the point, how far would he go?
* * *
Shane was likea kid on the plane. Amy Sue traded places with him so he could sit by the window after he told her he’d never flown before. She loved seeing how happy and excited he was.
She just wished she could feel the same. As hard as she tried to push what she’d found hidden in his duffel out of her thoughts, she couldn’t. Just as she couldn’t forget what Josie had told her about Shane and Roger Grimes having known each other. They would have gotten out of the prison at the same time except for that paperwork that kept Shane in longer.
Amy Sue remembered his writing her about that. He’d sounded as if he was surprised to be getting out when he did. But he must have known for some time that he was being released. He’d kept that from her and had only recently let it slip.
“I didn’t want to get my hopes up or yours, either,” he’d said when she’d questioned him about it.
At the time, she’d accepted his answer as being responsible. She would have been disappointed had he not gotten out.
“Look,” Shane said, drawing her over to the window. “It’s Vegas.”
She didn’t have to ask. Clearly he’d never been there. She watched him take in all the large buildings with a kind of awe. Again, she heard her sister’s voice.Does this look like a man who would be happy farming outside of Dry Gulch, Montana?
Shane had to put a couple of quarters in the slot machines at the airport before they caught a taxi. He instructed their driver to take them to the Regional Justice Center downtown, where they would get their marriage license.
“Don’t you want to go to the hotel first so we can get rid of our bags?” she whispered to Shane, who shook his head.
“We’ll go to the hotel after we get our license. We’re getting married today!”
She couldn’t understand the rush. He’d already told her that the Clark County Marriage License Bureau was open from eight in the morning to midnight 365 days a year. They had the whole weekend since he said they wouldn’t be flying back until late Sunday.
He was definitely enamored with Vegas and the bright city lights, she thought, amused and also worried as he took in the city from the taxi window. Clearly, there was so much he hadn’t experienced. From his letters, she’d gotten the impression that he’d had a rough life, no money, not much hope, and that he’d spent much of his youth behind bars.
She tried to see it all through his eyes but as they passed one gaudy wedding chapel after another, this all felt too rushed and not what she’d ever pictured. She’d never thought she’d ever get married without her sister by her side.
* * *
Down at the pool, Josie removed her cover and dropped it and her towel on a chair. There had been a couple in the hot tub, but they were leaving as she and Cordell came in. She could feel his gaze on her as she turned, walked to the edge of the water and dived in.
By the time she surfaced, he was right beside her. His hands cupped her waist as he drew her to him and kissed her. They floated together, barely moving more than it took to keep them afloat. He pulled her closer with one arm and cupped her cheek.
“I’ve loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you in sixth grade,” he whispered as he brushed over her lower lip with the rough paid of his thumb.
