Decker's Daughter - Caroline Lee Page 0,13

they hadn’t worn one of my saddles.”

Her laugh burst out of her, almost relieved. “So you must have the magic touch when it comes to leather, huh?”

Wincing, he dropped his attention to his shot, although from the way he lined it up, she knew he wasn’t going to make the necessary rebound. “Well, Ted poured that data into a new marketing campaign, and now I have a commission list longer than my arm. Probably longer than both arms put together actually.”

“That’s great!” It was cute how embarrassed he was about his success. “I guess this means you can always charge more per saddle if you wanted to.”

As predicted, he missed the shot, but sent her another sheepish grin. “The way they’re currently priced, I could make and sell only four a year and live like a king.”

Her eyes rounded when he told her the figure, and how relatively little time it took to make each saddle.

Must be nice not to have money troubles.

Her subconscious made a little tsking noise inside her head.

Jealousy isn’t a good look on you, Bobbi.

She wasn’t sure if the last was the voice of her mother, or her best friend from back home. Mama would’ve scolded her with the words, but Artie would’ve teased her.

And they would’ve both been right.

She sighed.

The two of them were quiet through the next hole, but once they headed to the next one, he cleared his throat. “Sorry, Bobbi Rae. I shouldn’t have made it sound like I was bragging or—”

“Oh, no! I was just surprised is all!” In her haste to make him understand she wasn’t weirded out by his talent, or his money, she placed her hand on his forearm. “You have a rare gift, Decker, and I’m glad you get to use it the way you do, and also that you love it as much as you seem to.”

Under her hand, the muscles in his forearm bunched, and she found herself gliding her fingers along his skin.

Wow! Who knew forearms could be so sexy?

When she looked up, his gaze caught and held hers.

“I don’t want you to think I’m too proud or anything.”

“You should be proud,” she whispered. “I’d love to see your workshop someday.”

That made his eyes light up. “I’d love to show it to you! Maybe our next date could be up at the ranch?”

It was an innocent invitation, but she winced and stepped away, heading for the next hole.

“Bobbi Rae?” he called softly, following her hesitantly.

This hole was in one of those fake rock tunnels, where the waterfall cascaded over one opening, and the green sat in the middle of a vaguely damp puddle. Just as she stepped inside the cool darkness, he caught up with her.

“Bobbi,” he said with a concerned tone. His hand snagged hers, and she turned to him.

Before she could think of how to respond, he’d dropped his hands to her hips, and pulled her with him when he stepped away from the green. Holding her, he leaned back against the wall and dropped his chin to meet her eyes.

In the dim light, she could see the question burning in his intense green gaze.

“Talk to me, sweetheart,” he murmured, the words sounding more like a command, than a plea.

And the endearment made her heart flip-flop with impossible longing.

How easy it would be to pretend she didn’t understand what he was asking! But that wouldn’t be fair to either of them, so she swallowed and forced herself to meet his eyes. “I don’t know what kind of girl you’re used to dating, Decker, but I’m a mother. Remember?”

“Okay, first of all, I’m not used to dating any kind of woman. And second of all, I know you’re a mom. I met CJ, and I like her a lot.”

And that was part of the problem, wasn’t it?

“I’m not…” She sighed and dropped her gaze to his lips, which was easier than meeting his eyes, but also made her wish for other things she shouldn’t have. “I’m not free to date whomever and however I want. CJ has a schedule, and I already don’t get enough time with her as it is. I have to be really careful I don’t hurt her.”

One of his large hands rested comfortably on her hip, keeping her safe. But the other rose to touch her cheek.

“You could never hurt her, sweetheart,” he whispered, and the certainty in his voice caused her eyes to close, so he wouldn’t see the deep longing his words inspired.

“Don’t you see?” Her own