20. The Silver Lode

Chapter 20

The Silver Lode

The BMW glided up Charlie's driveway as he peered out the window. He'd been pacing for a good ten minutes, and the sight of the sleek car flooded him with both relief and annoyance. Relief because he had decided Joy was standing him up and annoyance because she was there and she was ten minutes late. He didn't like late, but did it really matter? This wasn't a date. It wasn't anything except an excuse to show her the countryside—never mind that he really didn't need to anymore since they were partners and the project was underway.

Why were they going to Doro again? The reasons had become murkier and murkier.

Luna and Sunny danced at the front door, squeaking with excitement when he opened it to greet Joy. He nearly squeaked too. The woman who climbed out of the fancy car stunned him stupid. Her glossy hair was in loose waves, looking irresistibly touchable as it flowed around her shoulders. Big silver hoop earrings added an unexpected bohemian look. Her face was softer somehow, her lips a pretty pink instead of the harsh red she usually favored. She was dressed in a short denim skirt that accentuated her tan thighs, along with cowboy boots and a gauzy white top that hung off one shoulder and showed off her assets without revealing them. And her assets seemed to have grown. Nah, it was probably the top or whatever bra she had on under there.

Wonder what color it is? Is it one of those half-cup things? Satin or—

He gave himself a mental shake and held up a hand in greeting. "Hey."

She offered a contrite smile. "I'm sorry I'm late. I hate it when people are late, and I bet you do too, but I got caught without any clothes—in my wardrobe, I mean—and of course I couldn't wear my mother's …"

He nodded and shook his head as he tried to keep up with her rambling. Her expressive eyes rolled and held a smile. Was this the same woman he'd been wrangling with for two weeks? Impossible … although he liked this one way better. Except for that kiss the other one had shared with him. Yeah, that had been epic. So had the boner he'd had to take care of afterward.

"We should go," she ran on, "but first can I pet the girls?"

He blinked at her, speechless for a moment until he realized the girls she referred to were Sunny and Luna. "Yeah, of course," he choked. "They've been waiting for you."

She scooted up the walkway and crouched in front of the dogs, ruffling their necks and letting them lick her chin. He tried not to look down her blouse—he really did—but it was just kind of gaping, and she was wearing a pink lace bra that intrigued him. What kind of lace was it? Were there bows anywhere on that bra? Was it the reason she looked more … more? He wasn't ogling. He was … learning things about his partner. Yeah, right.

She cocked her head and looked up at him. "Ready to go?"

Oh yeah. "Yes, sure. You still want to drive?"

"Just try keeping me from behind that wheel." Her face burst with a playfully devilish grin.

He blew out a breath as he climbed into the passenger seat. He told himself, over and over, to look out the window at the scenery instead of the scenery that sat to his left and smelled really, really good.

"I'm so sorry." Joy leaned across the console and studied him with worried eyes. "Are you going to be okay? I didn't realize you were the carsick type."

"No, I'm good," he assured her as he battled wicked nausea. He normally wasn't the carsick type, but apparently riding beside a possessed Formula 1 race car driver through winding mountain roads brought it out in him.

Do not hurl, do not hurl, do not hurl .

He would have to fork over his man card if he did because Micky would find out, and he would never let Charlie live it down. Joy was a good driver, he'd give her that, but she was also an aggressive one, and she loved pushing the turns. And this particular road had lots of them. At least it kept him from ogling her the whole way.

"You sure? You're looking a little green." Her voice held more concern than he'd heard out of her the entire time he'd known her.

"Just give me a minute." They were parked on a turnout while Charlie gulped in air and tried to convince his stomach it felt great.

"Should I turn around and drive us back to Fall River?"

"Oh God, no! I mean, we're only ten minutes away, and I'll be fine. Promise." He offered her a wan smile, hoping the promise he'd just made was one he could keep.

"Well, maybe this will make you feel a little better." He managed an encouraging nod. If she talked, he didn't have to. "I told you about Bruno Keating's verbal offer?"

"Are you trying to make me sicker?"

"No, just listen. He followed it up with the LOI." Charlie raised an eyebrow. "The LOI expired yesterday."

"You didn't sign?"

"Of course not! Not only was it a lousy deal, but I would have had to check with my partner, and I'm guessing he wouldn't have gone for it."

Charlie barked a mirthless laugh. "Good guess, princess." That tiny bit of news did take some of the queasy out of his stomach .

Mercifully, she took it easy the rest of the way to Doro, and by the time they rolled into town, he'd mostly ridded himself of the urge to throw up. A cold beer would take care of the rest.

"This is Doro?" Her voice was filled with doubt.

"Yep. One more block, and you'll have seen the entire town."

He directed her a few streets off the main highway to the Silver Lode. When they pulled up, he groaned inside. It was more ramshackle than he remembered, like something left over from a Western movie set that had been neglected for decades. Probably because it was. Joy parked out front and craned her head to look through the windshield. "You sure this is it? I don't see a sign."

Because it fell off three years ago. "This is it." He put as much cheer into his voice as he could.

As he was second-guessing himself for the thousandth time and on the verge of offering for them to turn back—he was even willing to suffer the bendy roads—she broke out in a dazzling smile.

"This looks … very western Colorado. Rustic. Fun. Let's go." She popped open her door and took a step outside. A handful of guys sucking on beer bottles in front of the bar had been watching the car pull up and fixed their eyes on her rather than the sleek machine.

Charlie tumbled out and rounded the hood as quickly as his wobbly legs would carry him, cuffing her upper arm when he reached her. He was laying claim. Not because he wanted her, but because he needed to protect her from these clowns who were eyeing her like she was dessert and they were skipping the main course.

Then those clowns fastened on him. "Hunnicutt!" a guy yelled and held out his hand for a shake. "Are you and your brothers performing tonight?"

Oh shit! He recognized these musicians. He took the man's hand and greeted the others. "No, I'm strictly a spectator, Virgil. You guys sitting in?"

"We sure are. You should join us."

"Some other time." With his fingers in the small of Joy's back, he propelled her inside.

Virgil called after him. "We'll see if we can change that!"

He leaned down to Joy's ear and pulled in a fresh floral fragrance. Suddenly, he was immersed in wildflowers on a sultry summer night. He cleared his sticky throat. "Sorry I didn't introduce you back there. I didn't like the way they were check—"

"Charlie!" voices called out. Charlie was transported from the wildflowers to the bar's grungy interior and the patrons crowding it. This had been a truly bad idea after all. He should whisk Joy off somewhere where they could enjoy a quiet dinner for two. Except she was driving …

She glanced up at him through her lush lashes and smirked. "You're a celebrity here too?"

"No, not really." He returned the greetings. "Hey, everybody. Long time no see."

Two women broke off from the cluster and approached, each grabbing an arm—even the one he was using to guide Joy. Well, shit.

"Where have you been, lover?" one of them cooed.

"Hey, Clarisse. Hi, Delta." He pulled away from their grasps. "Good to see you ladies. I'd like to introduce you." Wrapping his hand around Joy's upper arm once more, he dragged her over and tucked her beside him as he introduced the two women and their boyfriends, all members of one of the other bands playing in tonight's "festival." It occurred to him that instead of shielding Joy, he was using her as his shield.

As if she knew exactly what he was playing at, she rested a hand possessively on his chest. Damn, that felt good. Too bad it wasn't real.

After a few minutes of nonsensical chitchat, Clarisse and Delta looked bored and returned to their group.

Joy pulled away, damn it.

"I, uh, didn't realize I'd know people here," he stammered.

The Big Guy upstairs must have been watching and playing a colossal cosmic joke because more people streamed toward them, pushing Joy out of the way before he could drag her back. She gave him a little signal that she was okay and moved off to the bar, where a very friendly bartender was eager to give her whatever she wanted—a drink and himself too, apparently. Fuck! Charlie hadn't even been able to buy Joy her first drink. What kind of date was he? Oh, right. He wasn't a date.

He broke away from the crowd, reclaimed Joy, and steered her to a table in a dark corner.

She tapped her beer bottle with pink nails. "You're fidgety. Do you need a drink?"

"In a bit. "

Joy craned her neck. "I wonder what other fans are going to flock to you."

"I'm sorry." Placing his forearms on the table, he leaned toward her until he was within inches. He ran his eyes over her face, taking in every captivating detail while he inhaled more of that dizzying scent he wanted to bottle and sleep with. Why hadn't he noticed the contours of her face before?

She was off-limits, that's why. He straightened, putting distance between them.

"What are you sorry about?" She placed her lips against the long neck and took a slow sip, and his cock stirred with interest.

"It's … I've lived in the area my whole life …"

"I get it. You're a good-looking guy who's in high demand, and these are small towns."

"No, it's not like that! Wait. You think I'm good-looking?" One side of his mouth quirked. He couldn't help it.

She shook her head, but mischief capered in her eyes. In fact, her eyes were positively lit, all gold and fire. "Lucky me. I'm with San Juan County's most famous bachelor."

"We're actually in Dolores County now."

She gave him another smirk, and he found himself wanting to take it away with a bruising kiss that left her breathless. Liquid heat flooded his veins, and he pictured her beneath him, pleas tumbling from that sassy mouth of hers as she begged him for more.

Those pink lips took another cool tug off the bottle, and he had to adjust himself. The air between them pulsed with electrical charges, and if it kept up, he might go up in flames.

Fuck, this was going to be a long night.

The first band—Virgil's—started to play, which was the distraction he needed. "Let's dance." Ignoring her protests, he grabbed her hand, pulled her to her feet, and dragged her to the dance floor, where he twirled her to start. He locked an arm around her waist and took her hand in his. They fit perfectly, and he moved their bodies together as if they'd been dancing together their whole lives.

"You're good at this," she murmured in his ear. Her warm breath tickled, raising the fine hairs on his neck and awareness throughout his body. Heightened desire sluiced through his veins .

"I've had a little practice," he blurted out, sounding like an arrogant idiot. "Dancing, I mean."

"Yeah, right. Dancing," she agreed, but that impish smile on her face said otherwise.

He maneuvered her outside the other dancers and pulled her close, resting his nose close to her silky hair. God, she smelled good! She felt good too, with her pillowed curves flattened against him. Where he'd expected bony points digging into him, he got pure female softness.

She rested her head against his shoulder, her hand pressed to his lower back. Breath left her chest on a sigh. His dick liked the feel of her—liked everything about her—and decided to come out and play. It urged him on, demanding he grind against her, but he pulled his hips away instead, executing an awkward sort of goose step. Now he could feel her laughing against him. Before he could consider his next move, his name blared over the speakers.

"Charlie Hunnicutt! Get your ass up here!"

No, no, no!

People egged him on, and he refused until he looked into Joy's eyes, where a challenge shone. "Go on, Charlie Hunnicutt," she teased. "I want to hear you sing. I'll be fine right here in my li'l ol' corner." She motioned toward their table.

Hitching his jeans, he willed his hard-on to deflate. "Since you insist."

He stepped up to the stage, and one of the band members handed Charlie a Fender Stratocaster. Charlie gaped at him. "Seriously?"

"Go on," the guy laughed. "I've seen you play. I know you'll be good to my baby."

The drummer called out "Off The Ground" by The Record Company. "You know it?"

"Of course I know it." Charlie settled the strap around his neck and plucked a few strings, getting used to the feel. Sweet. He nodded to the drummer, who counted down with his sticks. Soon they were jamming, and Charlie was lost in the music. Not totally lost, though, because he stole looks at Joy to see if her expression broadcast what a total fool she thought he was. Instead, what he saw was unadulterated admiration, and while he was used to that look from other women whenever he performed, having it reflected in her eyes sent him soaring into the stratosphere. Energy bloomed inside him .

Three songs later, he thanked the crowd and the band. "Virgil, thanks for letting me play with you and the boys. It's been a minute, and it felt good." They tried to coax him into one more, and he politely declined. "I'm so out of practice. I don't want to mess up this good thing you've got going on here. Besides, I gotta get back to my girl before someone steals her."

Exhilaration lifted him off the stage and to the table, where Joy gave him an awkward half hug and clapped with more enthusiasm than he thought possible. "That was amazing! You're really good! Do you perform much?" She practically gushed, and his self-esteem ballooned.

"Not so much. My brothers and I have played together since we were teenagers, but it seems the older we get, the less time we have to make music. I really enjoy it, though," he lamented.

"Well, I really enjoyed watching you."

He leaned in, cupping his chin in his palm. "Yeah? Wanna share your reasons why?"

The woman who'd been driving him nuts for two weeks had captivated all his attention … and he couldn't wait to find out what else the night held in store for them.