Misadventures Of A Single Mom (Big Sky Boyfriends #1)

Chapter 9

9

“Wow! Look at that upside down car!” shouted Zach.

We were all into the crash and burn portion of the derby. Cars were mangled on the mud track, some with steam coming out of their radiators, two cars stuck together in a T-bone gunning their engines, wheels spinning in the mud with the hope of separating. The latest excitement was a car pushed up a berm and flipped onto its top. It slowly came to a standstill after spinning around in circles twice.

“Cool!” Bobby added.

Goldie, Paul and I sat with little yellow foam earplugs sticking out of our ears, the boys with the large earmuff style to muffle the unbelievably loud engine noise.

The arena was an outdoor venue, rectangular shaped and open to the elements. No roof. Similar to a high school football stadium. It was used for everything from rodeos to demolition derbies. No restrooms, no food vendors. That was all outside the arena, part of the fairgrounds. Running down the long sides of the event area were the stands, all concrete steps and wood bench-style seats. Room enough for about three hundred. We sat most of the way up the stands so the boys had a good view. Couldn’t miss any action. I could see the sun setting on the Gallatin Mountains from our seats.

Zach and Bobby held red and white striped bags of popcorn. I had the super-sized soda to wash it all down, which was now only half full. The smells of animal, mud and buttered popcorn mingled in the evening air.

I was mentally betting how long it would take for the boys to need the bathroom. I swear they had bladders the size of walnuts and it was a haul to get there. You had to leave the stands, go outside the arena and over to the small, squat buildings that served as restrooms. They’d miss all the demolishing. So would I.

Goldie caught my attention by giving me a little finger wave, and then tilted her head to the right and down a few rows. I followed her gaze and saw Ty and the Colonel. Both wore white shirts—the Colonel’s had a collar—and the similar close-cut hair. Based on the smiles on their faces they, too, were enjoying the smash-up. Even from my side view of Ty, I felt that excitement, that zing, course through my blood and travel to all the important sexual places on my body.

Damn small-town life. If the man wanted to avoid me, why would he show up exactly where I was? The state was six hundred miles wide. Couldn’t he be somewhere, anywhere else? It wasn’t fair for me to have the zing if he didn’t have it, too. Equal opportunity zing.

Goldie did a couple weird gestures with her head and eyes which I translated to be: Here’s your opportunity. Make the man jealous!

But how? Where I sat—high up in the stands—no man was going to turn around and look my way, let alone flirt with me while cars rammed each other in the mud. It was a demolition derby! Hell, I could walk around stark naked and all a guy would see is big tires flinging mud. There was no separating men from their machines.

Fine, I’d trek to the ladies’ room while I contemplated my first move in Operation Make-Him-Jealous. Goldie would think I had a plan. It would give me at least ten minutes to come up with one. If there was no line, otherwise it might be longer.

The boys were mesmerized by the carnage before them. Zach had forgotten the popcorn that was halfway to his mouth. After I gestured to the ladies’ room and Goldie nodded in understanding, I handed her the soda and maneuvered down the stands and out of the arena.

I took the east exit, away from the fair. The ground was packed dirt, the air cool as the stands blocked the sun. Not many people milled around. All were either at the fair or at the derby.

“Jane!”

I turned.

Ty.

“Hi,” I said, nervous. He looked really good up close. As usual. I could see some dark blond stubble on his chin and I wondered what it would feel like against my skin. The underside of my breasts, my stomach, the inside of my…stop! I felt my face flush.

“Yeah, hi.” Ty stared at me. Looked at my mouth. Looked at the ground. Looked at me. He leaned in.

He was going to kiss me!

He lifted his hands to hold my head. To pull my hair from the ponytail and run his fingers through the silky tresses. Yes!

But, instead, he lifted his hands to pull the little ear plugs from my ears. Crap. I held out my hand and stuffed them embarrassingly in my jeans pockets. “Thanks,” I grumbled.

“So, that guy from the auction.”

Holy crap. Goldie was right. Replace First Guy with Second Guy and First Guy would be jealous. Regardless of the fact that Second Guy was way too kinky/creepy for me to be cool. That didn’t matter. The fact that he had a penis was enough to make Ty strut around like a rooster.

“What about him?” I tried to sound nonchalant. I wasn’t very good at it, so hopefully I seemed way more confident in my feminine wiles than I felt.

“He looked at you like you were a piece of meat.” Ty didn’t need glasses, that was for sure. To Dex, I was nothing more than an object. “I swear I saw him wipe drool.”

“And?”

Ty ran a hand through his hair. “And? Jesus, Jane.”

I wouldn’t put the man out of his misery. He had to come to me. “What are you doing here?” I lifted my hand in an all-encompassing gesture. “You walked away from me the other day at the convenience store. Said I’m a…what was it? Oh, right, a ‘magnet for disaster’. You have no say in who I see or what I do.”

Ty didn’t like being told off. His jaw clenched tight and his face reddened. Clearly, he was angry, although I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me or himself for being such a dumbass.

“Look, Goldie came over to say hello to me and the Colonel in the stands and asked how we were enjoying the derby. She said you were leaving and told me to give you a ride.”

Ah, Goldie-the-Meddler. She obviously didn’t say why I was leaving . The old omit-the-important-parts trick.

“Why didn’t you just tell her no?”

Ty lifted an eyebrow. “Have you ever told that woman no?”

He had a point.

“Besides, she gave us the tickets to the derby so it was the least I could do.”

“So you’re going to give me a ride because Goldie is making you, not because you want to?”

Ty opened his mouth to say something, and then shut it, smart enough to recognize he couldn’t answer that question without stepping in a pile of horse poop.

“It was nice of Goldie to give you the tickets,” I commented.

That woman. I swear I’d strangle her one of these days. Or kiss her. I wasn’t sure which at the moment. She’d planned the whole thing! First, she probably bought extra derby tickets so Ty could be in the same place as me. That was even before Ty walked away and at that point, she just wanted us to be around each other as much as possible.

Only an hour ago, she’d put the bee in my bonnet about making Ty jealous. She must have seen him at the horse auction watching me with Dex. With Ty at the derby, it would have been child’s play for her to have him follow me. Goldie had a twisted, devious mind when it came to matchmaking, even more so at making men suffer. The least I could do was to keep the pain going for the man. All of Goldie’s hard work demanded it.

“So who was that guy?” Ty asked, venturing back into Jealousy Territory.

I shrugged. “Just a guy I met the other day.”

“I didn’t think you went for cowboys.”

“You never know who you’re going to be attracted to.”

“Yeah.” Ty looked at my mouth with longing, as if he couldn’t help himself. I almost succumbed to making the first move. I remembered his taste, how his was a mixture of gentle and demanding all at the same time.

I ran my tongue over my lower lip, wetting it. Right then, I wanted him to kiss me so badly I couldn’t stand it. I felt heat flare beneath my skin. Who could blame me? Any single woman would shoot me dead for not giving in to the obvious want I saw in his gorgeous, blue eyes. I was a piece of meat and he wanted to eat me up. That was the look on his face, not Dex’s. That was A-OK with me.

I didn’t mind if Ty wanted to eat me. He can eat me all he wants. Oh God! Did I just think that? That meant I’d feel his stubble on my thighs, his face buried…No! Stop! Don’t think about him nibbling there!

“You never know who you’ll be attracted to,” he repeated, eyes now on my breasts. My nipples hardened involuntarily.

The man was ridiculously attracted to my breasts. I was attracted to his attraction to my breasts. The man wanted me . Me!

Yes!

Kiss him!

No! No. Be strong. Make him suffer. Only then would he come back.

Goldie didn’t mention how much I would suffer, too. How my panties would be ruined and I ached for him to discover that. I might take her up on the offer for the top-of-the-line dildo to ease my need. And boy, did I need!

I gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder instead of yanking him into my arms and kissing him. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. What kind of crazy woman turned down a guy who wanted her? Especially when you wanted him right back. I could be in bed with him, hell, pressed up against some hidden wall at the fairgrounds with my legs wrapped around his waist in minutes. But noooo, I had to do the right thing, the stupid thing—push him away. “I’m…I’m glad you’re my neighbor. I’ll definitely knock on your door if my snow blower breaks.”

I walked off, headed to the ladies’ room. I swear I could feel Ty’s eyes boring into my back. I looked forward, focused on the women’s restroom, a gray squat building. I whispered to myself, “Do not turn around. Do not turn around.” I missed the smashed-up derby car barreling down on me until the last moment. I turned and saw one broken headlight and cracked grill. For a split second, I felt like a deer ready to be run over, literally, before strong arms pushed me out of the way. I fell to the ground with a thunk, felt a heavy weight land on top of me—not heavy enough to be a car—before the world went black.

I came to with Ty’s face looming over me. Not a bad image when returning to consciousness. But the concern I saw there was something I wouldn’t soon forget. He was so close I could feel his warm breath on my skin. I noticed the scent of peppermint.

I blinked.

“Jesus,” Ty whispered before closing his eyes briefly.

I started processing other things besides Ty. I saw the small crowd that had formed around us, heard the engine noise from the derby, smelled sausage and peppers from the fair’s midway. “I remember a derby car trying to run me over.”

Ty nodded his head. “I remember that, too.” His voice was grim and angry, his jaw clenched tight.

I sat up.

“Don’t. Just lie there until the paramedics come.”

“I’m fine. No little birdies flying around my head.” I carefully stood up but Ty kept a firm grip on my arm. I brushed dirt off my jeans hoping to hide my wobbly knees. “I don’t need—or want—the paramedics. Besides, aren’t you one?” At Ty’s nod, I added, “You know I’m fine.”

Ty contemplated my words for a moment as he looked me over. Not the same heated look as only a minute before, but now in a clinical, assessing way. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Two,” I grumbled. “Four. Stop switching it!”

Ty rolled his eyes. “Show’s over, folks,” he told the few still concerned. Once we were alone again, Ty pulled me tightly into his arms.

“I can’t breathe,” I gasped.

“Sorry.” Ty loosened his grip but still held me close.

“Mmm, you feel good.” His body heat seeped into me through his rock hard, muscled chest. He smelled like…Ty. Rugged male, soap and something else I was learning was just his own scent. I heard his heartbeat beneath my ear and it raced like a thoroughbred. Clearly, he wasn’t as calm as he appeared.

“Was that a crazy driver or was he trying to run me over?” I asked.

Ty gave me a quick squeeze then loosened his hold, although he kept his hands on my upper arms. Either he didn’t want to let me go, which was a very romantic thought, but more likely he wanted to make sure I didn’t fall over on my face. “It looked to me like the bastard was trying to run you over.”

I was dumbfounded. “Wh…why?”

“I have no idea, but a crazy driver would have at least stopped and said he was sorry. You have to admit a lot of weird things have been happening. Even for you.”

I snorted. Not very ladylike, but neither was the topic. “I told you these…weird things are not usual. Something is going on and it all started with those stupid gnomes.”

Ty’s eyebrows went up. “You think all of this is tied in to the semen, the gnomes and Morty?”

“It makes sense, doesn’t it? I think something’s happened to Morty. No one’s heard from him. He was desperate for that gnome. If someone hurt Morty because of the gnome, it’s not hard to follow they might come after me.”

Ty thought for a moment. “It actually makes sense. We should check and see if that derby car was stolen.”

We?

“Great. So you’re saying someone’s trying to kill me? With a derby car?”

“Not anymore. That didn’t work.”

“Neither did the explosion.”

Ty clenched his jaw. “Christ, neither did the explosion. This is nothing to feel proud about!”

“I’m not proud,” I muttered. “Relieved I’m not flattened.”

Ty kissed the top of my head, probably not remembering he’d put a ban on kissing. It was as if he had to do it. “The gnome’s glued back together, the vial is in the trash, Morty’s gone. The question is: Why the hell does someone want you dead?” His voice was frustration, anger and worry rolled into one.

I pulled back and looked him in the eye. His face showed the same mixed emotions. Obviously, he wasn’t sure if he should hold me or push me away.

Someone wanted me dead. Someone wanted me dead. Who? Why? What was so bad that someone hated me so much? “I…I have no idea.” My voice was shaky. “I lead a boring life.”

Ty laughed humorously. “Boring? You’re the least boring person I’ve ever met. I’ve known you less than a week. You had a person roam around your yard, a missing man on your doorstep, an explosion, a convenience store robbery, and now are almost run over by a derby car in that small window of time. Is there anything I’ve missed?” He raised an eyebrow, daring me to add something else.

No chance I’d tell him now about visiting Dex at his ranch. It had been a dead end in finding Morty, hopefully no pun intended. He hadn’t been there shoveling poop like I’d wanted. He hadn’t lifted a pitchfork all week.

Dex didn’t want me dead, he wanted me in his bed. And that wasn’t something I was going to share with Ty.

I hoped my face didn’t give my thoughts away. I tried to look all innocent and clueless like Zach and Bobby when they broke something special.

“Nope.” I heard applause from the crowd and saw people filing out of the arena.

“The derby must be over.” Ty finally released my arms. I brushed the dust off my jeans. “Let’s not tell Goldie or anyone else about this little incident. I don’t want to scare them. Especially the boys. Besides, we don’t know for sure someone wants me”— I gulped— “dead.” It was hard to get the words out. Someone wanted me dead.

“The only way we’ll know for sure is if you’re actually dead,” Ty grumbled, angry. “Which I don’t want to verify. But I agree. We won’t tell your family, but I’m going to talk to some cops I know and look into all this. Morty, the explosion, the goddamn derby car. We can’t do nothing and wait for someone to try again.” He took my hands in his, rubbed his thumbs over my palms. I felt the caress all the way to my hooha. “But you have to lay low. Promise me you won’t take any unnecessary risks.” He brought my knuckles up to his mouth and kissed one hand, then the other. “Don’t do anything crazy.”

Just his lips on my knuckles gave me a zing. Like mini lightning. If Ty only knew how much I felt like a wanton hussy by a simple brush of his lips, he’d probably toss me over his shoulder like a caveman and haul me back to his man cave and do stuff to me so I couldn’t walk right for a week.

Oh, boy. Please!

Focus. I lifted my chin defiantly but was content keeping my hands in his. “I never do anything crazy. That’s my problem!”

Right then, my sexual control snapped. That last zing had done it. I kissed him. Right there with the crowd parting around us. A quick, hard kiss. Not too quick, as I was able to tangle tongues with him before I pulled back. “There. That was crazy.”

So much for making him suffer, waiting for him to come to me. Let’s face it, I sucked at it. But I’d almost been run over by a demolition derby car. Probably not many women trying to make a man suffer were almost run over during the suffering process. The rules had changed when my life flashed before my eyes. I realized I hadn’t kissed enough yet. Life was short and I needed to squeeze in all the extra kissing I could. Besides, Ty had pushed me out of the way and saved my life. He deserved a kiss for that. A mulligan. That’s what it was. A mulligan kiss.

Ty had a deranged look on his face. Half lust, half insanity. “Promise me,” he repeated before pulling me back into his arms for more.

I had no doubts if we hadn’t been standing out in public at a county fair I would have had my panties around my ankles within five seconds. Fortunately, we both had a smidge of self-control—and a desire to avoid being arrested.

“I’m going camping tomorrow,” I said, breathlessly. “What can happen in the woods?”