Chapter Eight

Brandy

His hand on my hip felt natural despite the potential awkwardness of our situation. We’d essentially only just met, but here we were, in the middle of a crowded dance floor, our eyes locked on one another’s, his hand on my hip as I swayed it left to right with the beat. He was doing an admirable job keeping up, too. Light on his feet and seeming to be able to take my cues easily, we moved like we had been dancing together for a long time.

Our drinks arrived in the middle of the second song, but I didn’t want to stop. The thumping beat and the lowered lights on the dance floor, mixed with the bright yellow, red, and blue lights that swirled over it, enhanced the intimacy of the moment. I took a risk and positioned myself closer to him, one leg on either side of his and pressing my body into him.

Was I imagining it? Or was I feeling it? It was in the right spot, snaking down his leg. Thick and hard. Probably throbbing as I brushed my hip against that area of his pants. If it was, then the big hands were giving away the game. I wondered if he was as naturally good at that as he was dancing.

“Wow, it’s getting hot,” I blurted out, desperate to get my mind on literally anything else.

“Are you thirsty? I think our drinks are at the table,” he said.

I nodded, rather than shouting over the music, and he smiled, offering me his hand. I took it and followed him back off the dance floor and up the stairs to our booth. I laughed as I flopped into it, eagerly taking the drink and downing a good portion of it.

“That was fun,” he said and leaned a little closer. “I’d love to go do some more dancing whenever you’re ready.”

“For sure,” I said eagerly. “I just need a second to cool off. Get some of this in me.”

“Me too,” he said, taking a deep pull of his drink and setting it down. “So tell me a little about yourself while we’re taking our break.”

“Sure,” I said. “I guess you know I’m Madie’s granddaughter.”

“I did,” he said.

“I was born here in Foley, but my mom moved us around the area a lot. I went to part of high school here, though. Graduated here. Then I moved to New York to go to culinary school.”

“Wow, that’s a hell of a move.”

“It was,” I admitted. “But I wanted out of Texas for a while. Mostly to get away from my mom. She was difficult to be around, especially then.”

“Sorry to hear that,” he said, and curiously, I felt like he meant it. Most people would say that as a kneejerk reaction, but with Collin, the way he was looking into my eyes like he was staring directly into my soul, I knew he meant it.

“Thank you,” I said, a little knocked off track. “Anyway, after I moved there, I met my best friend, Basil, and got married to an idiot.”

“Hah,” he said. “Well, he’s not here with you, so yes, I would tend to agree he’s an idiot.”

I grinned. “I appreciate that,” I said. “I don’t want to talk about him, though. If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all,” he said. “I want to know whatever you want to tell me.”

“Good. Well, umm… I’ll just skip ahead a lot and say I decided to move home to help take care of my grandmother. I’d kind of always had this dream that the shop would be open and I’d open a bakery that was attached, and one day, I’d own them both.”

“Sounds like a nice dream.”

“It is,” I said, sighing. “But it looks like the sandwich shop is a bit harder to get restarted than I thought it would be. Until I get that going, the bakery probably isn’t happening.”

“I’m sure it will turn around,” he said. “Your sandwiches were amazing. Just like your grandmother’s in the best of ways. Very nostalgic.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I just wish there was a way to make my own mark, you know?”

“I do,” he said. “I understand that well.”

“What about you? What can I know about you?”

“Oh, there’s not a lot to know, really,” he said. “I was born and raised here, obviously. I’m the second oldest of the Galloway boys. I spent a little time in the military after high school and then came home and did online courses to get a bachelor’s in business management. I essentially run the paperwork side of the ranch business now.”

“Do you still live there?”

He nodded, taking another sip of the drink. “All of us do, except for Logan. And I expect Luke will want to get a place with Amber soon. Might just build a place on the ranch, but I haven’t talked to him too much about it.”

“That must be nice. To have your brothers so close.”

“It’s nice, yeah,” he said. “They help me get along. I help them get along. We all look out for Jesse.”

He laughed, and I realized it must be some in-joke that the people of Foley were all aware of. My knowledge of Jesse Galloway was simply that he was the skinny one with the long hair who sang all the time.

“Well, I’ll be.”

I looked up to see a woman standing above us. She was pretty, if in a hardened sort of way. Her nametag said ‘Becky,’ and she was clearly working at Crockett’s. I had a vague memory of coming here once before and her working at the bar.

“Hey, Becky,” Collin said. “I told you I had someone coming.”

“You sure did,” she said, almost reverently. “You’re Madie’s granddaughter, right? Brandy?”

“That’s me,” I said, a little put off that she knew who I was when I didn’t really know who she was.

“Good to see you again,” she said. “That drink do you all right?”

“Just fine,” I said. “I’d love another, actually.”

“Sure, sure,” she said. “Collin?”

“No, thank you. I’ll take a regular soda, though.”

“Sure.”

As she walked away, I cocked an eyebrow at Collin, who was finishing off his drink.

“I’m not a big drinker,” he said, seeing my curiosity. “Never really have been. I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

“Not at all,” I said. “As long as you don’t judge me for having more than one. I came here with Basil, and she’s only having one tonight.”

“That makes sense. Please, enjoy yourself. I don’t judge as a general rule.”

“That’s a good general rule.”

“It’s made my life easier.”

A few minutes later, we were up and heading back to the dance floor. The second drink had come before we left, and I carried it with me, taking sips as we began dancing. It started to hit me pretty quickly, especially since the only thing I’d eaten all day was a half-sandwich that I’d made incorrectly for someone and had to remake.

The music seemed to close off all other sound, and as we got closer to each other, the heat in the room felt like it jumped a couple dozen degrees. Sweat was rolling down the small of my back when he placed his hand there and pulled me tight into him. There was no guessing now. I could definitely feel him through his jeans.

Historically, I was the kind of girl who wanted to really get to know someone before I made any real moves. A kiss at the end of a first date wasn’t out of the ordinary, but before anything else happened, I was at least three dates in. That hadn’t changed when I met my ex, nor after he left me. In the rare instances where I’d gone out with someone since, it had ended with me shutting the door on them while they made frustrated sounds and mentally crossed me off whatever list they had in their heads.

There weren’t many second dates, and only one third since the ex.

Yet, at this moment, I was willing to make an exception. Something about Collin made me think that he wasn’t like the other guys. Perhaps it was the small town. It was much harder to avoid someone in Foley, so ghosting them didn’t work out terribly well. Really, though, it was his whole vibe. He just felt like someone I could trust.

And that was insanely attractive.

In all my life, I’d never made the first move on a guy. I’d resisted several first moves but never made one. That changed in a lightning-fast moment when I went onto my toes, flung myself forward, and pressed my lips to his.

It was probably only a second that we were locked together, but it felt like forever. His lips were soft, and he tasted faintly like whiskey. When I went back down on my heels, I continued dancing, smiling up at him as he smiled down at me. There weren’t words to say.

Another song came on, a slower one, and he took me into his chest and we rocked for a while. I nuzzled into his shoulder, like a cat covering myself in his scent, and his hand inched down so the pinky finger was just above the top of my jeans. Many other men would have used the opportunity to cop a feel, and if he had, I wouldn’t have thought anything about it.

He didn’t. He kept it right there. Then, with a suddenness that surprised me into submission, he dipped me back and planted his lips on mine again.

This time, the kiss lasted a long, long time. Long enough for a verse to go by and the chorus to begin again. His tongue slid into my mouth, and I felt like my whole body was tingling as I went limp in his grasp.

He could have taken me right there on the dance floor and I wouldn’t have resisted.

When the song ended, a surge of adrenaline shot through me like a bolt. I was all keyed up and wanted to keep dancing. Collin obliged, and we stayed on the dance floor until I was exhausted and sweating and he led me off toward the bar.

“I’ll have a water,” he called out to the man behind the bar. To my surprise, he stopped what he was doing, acknowledged both Collin and I with his arm around me, and looked to me expectantly.

“Water,” I said. “Thank you.”

Nodding, the bartender poured us two glasses of water, plopped in a couple pieces of ice, and handed them over.

The first sip was as awakening and refreshing as cold iced tea on a summer’s day. But it did nothing to put out the fire my body felt like it was experiencing. A fire that felt like could only be extinguished by Collin.

As it got a little later, Collin led me back to the table and asked if I wanted a ride home. I eagerly accepted, and as we passed Basil at the bar, we made eye contact, and she shot me a thumbs-up.

Collin led me to his truck, and I climbed in the passenger’s side. As soon as he punched the gas, I let my hand rest on his pants leg. I could tell he was getting excited as he drove, and I slowly inched my hand up. If I was going to be bad tonight, I might as well be bad .

I was just an inch or so away from being able to grasp his member in my palm when blue lights filled the road, and Collin shot a look in the rearview mirror.

“Dammit,” he said. “Listen, this could be bad.”

“Why?” I laughed. “Do you have a warrant or something?”

“No,” he said. “It’s just… well, the Andersons…”

“Collin Galloway,” a menacing voice said from outside of the truck. “Roll down your window. And keep your hands where I can see them.”

“What did I do, Eugene?” Collin asked as he rolled the window down.

“You were swerving,” the cop spat. “Saw you coming out of Crockett’s stumbling. I believe you are under the influence.”

“Come on,” Collin said. “You know I don’t drink much. I’m sober as I can be.”

“I’ll judge that,” the cop said. “Out. You, miss, what’s your name?”

“Brandy,” I said.

“Brandy, you stay here.”

Collin groaned as he undid his seatbelt and looked over at me solemnly.

“Whatever he does, just let it happen. It’s not worth you getting hurt.”

“What?”

Collin was already out of the car and walking ahead to where the headlights were pointed. The cop noted the white line of the side of the road and asked Collin to walk it, heel to toe. But he’d only gotten two steps in when the cop launched at him from behind, smashing the back of his leg with something long and black.

Collin hit the ground, and I cried out. The cop shot me a look like death, and I covered my mouth. The cop then hauled back and kicked Collin in the stomach before kneeling over him and yanking his hands behind his back. I watched in horror as he put handcuffs on Collin and then stood up, brushing off his pants with an annoyed grunt.

Then he made his way toward me.

Petrified, I stayed where I was, watching the cop in disbelief.

“You know how to drive this thing?” he said as he got to the window.

“Yes?” I said.

“It’s a stick,” he said condescendingly.

“I know,” I said. “I can drive stick shift.”

“Good. I don’t want to deal with the impound right now, so I am going to do Collin here a big favor and let you drive his truck home. You understand? You need to drive it to your house. Collin can send one of his brothers to go pick it up. But you need to go directly home. Got it?”

“Yes, sir,” I said.

“Good.” He grinned. “And if I were you, I wouldn’t ever talk to this low-life again. He’s bad news, you understand? A real piece of shit. Stay away from him. Now go.”

I nodded, sliding into the driver’s seat and starting the engine. As I backed up, the cop, Eugene Anderson, according to his badge and what Collin called him, picked Collin up and shoved him into the back of his cruiser. I pulled away as the cop got into his driver’s seat, and headed home on the verge of tears.