so bad when the passenger door flew open that he forgot all about the desire shooting through his body. “It’s not cooled down much, but it was damn hot when I got inside,” he said.
“As hot as that kiss was?” she asked.
“Oh, no, honey.” He shook his head as he drove away from the yard. “Hell ain’t even that hot.”
“Do you think things would’ve ever been different between us if we hadn’t gotten involved with this wedding stuff?” she asked.
“Never know now, but I doubt it,” he answered.
“Why?” she asked.
“I’ve always had a crush on you, Alana, but you’re about to inherit the second biggest ranch in the Panhandle. I don’t have a thing to bring to a table like that, and I felt that folks would think I’d married you for your money. I’m too proud for that, I guess,” he replied. “And besides you hurt my little heart when you slapped the hell out of my cheek when I kissed you behind the barn. Remember?”
“Evidently I didn’t do too good of a job, because you’ve been raisin’ hell ever since then,” she smarted off.
“I’ve been tryin’ to prove that some girls like my kisses,” he told her.
“Got that job done yet?” she asked.
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “I wanted to ask you to the prom when we were seniors but when I finally got the courage to even walk up to you in the hallway at school, you gave me a dirty look.”
“I did not,” she protested.
“Yep, you did. You glared at me like if I took another step toward you, you’d knock me square on my ass,” he said.
She clamped a hand over her mouth and giggled.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“I remember that day now. Wyatt Downing was right behind you and he”—she suddenly got serious—“and he made a rude hand gesture. I was giving him the dirty look, not you.”
“Would you have gone with me if I’d asked?” Pax asked.
“Probably,” she answered. “That was a long time ago, and by the way, so was that kiss. I shouldn’t have slapped you, but you went right out and kissed another girl the next day, so…” She raised an eyebrow.
“I had to do something to restore my thirteen-year-old manhood.”
Even if it was years later, he felt like a king that she’d liked him enough even in those days to be jealous. “Did you go kiss another boy?”
“Hell, no!” she said. “I didn’t kiss another boy until I was sixteen.”
“Did you like it then?” he asked.
“No, he didn’t do much better than you did,” she teased.
“Ouch!” he groaned. “I’d been practicing for weeks on the back of my hand. I thought I had it down, and, honey, let me tell you something.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed each knuckle. “When my lips touched yours, my heart skipped at least two beats.”
“So did mine,” she admitted. “But we need to talk about the business of the ranch now.”
“Party pooper,” he joked.
“One of us has to be,” she told him. “Now then, you’re half owner of the Callahan Ranch, right?”
“That’s right, and, honey, it’s not a big ranch, so you’re sure not marryin’ me for my money,” he continued to tease her.
“How do you know? I might be wanting to add the Callahan Ranch to the Bar C,” she said.
“No way.” He shook his head. “That’s Callahan land. How many acres does the Bar C cover? How many permanent hired hands does the ranch employ? How many temporary kids do you hire in the summer?” he asked.
“You thinkin’ about suing me for half of my ranch when we get the divorce?” she asked.
“No, I’m making you see what I’m talking about.” He turned out of the lane and onto the county road.
“Well, the Bar C isn’t as big as the King Ranch,” she said, “or even the Rockin’ B. It’s not listed on the top ten biggest ranches in Texas by a longshot, but we’ve got ninety thousand acres, twenty hired hands who stay in the bunkhouse with Lucas, and we usually hire about fifty local kids in the summer. Does that answer your questions?”
“Yep, and it’s pretty close to what I figured. The Callahan Ranch has a little over a thousand acres. Maverick and I are trying to take care of it with only ourselves and a handful of summertime help. You get the picture?” He turned off the county road onto the highway leading into town.
She folded her arms over her chest. “No, I don’t and never