West of Forever (Heartstone Ranch #1)(27)

“Let’s get a drink,” I suggest. Maybe it’ll help clear my head.

One drink turns into six, because the one thing my best friends do not have is restraint. So the three of us laugh, spin each other around on the dance floor, and continue to toss back various types of liquor.

“We’re going to be so sick,” Mary Lou says with a snort. “Like, fuck-my-life kind of sick.”

I laugh as she turns me, since I forgot that part of the dance. “I can’t feel my tongue.”

“Oh God.” Suzanne snorts a laugh. “Let’s…sit and get water.”

“Water is good,” Mary Lou agrees.

She’s right, but that’s not what I say. “Tequila is better!”

We each grab hands, making a train and heading back to the table, overcome with a fit of giggles, but we don’t fall.

That’s a plus.

We each chug a bottle of water and then look around at the thinned-out crowd. It’s late. We’ve been drinking all night, and we probably should’ve had a better plan, but when Mary Lou showed back up in Infinity Ridge earlier today, the only plan was a night out.

Lord knows I’ve needed it.

Now I need my bed.

Sleep…yes, that would be good. Dreams of horses or that one guy who asked me to dance a few songs ago—that would be preferable.

Not dreaming of another cowboy who caused my heart to race.

He’s not for me.

I go to drink more water, but it’s empty. “Crap,” I mutter. “I drank it all.”

Suzanne hands me hers. “Here, you can drink this.”

I lift it up, but there’s nothing in there either. “Empty.”

“Whomp, whomp,” Mary Lou says and then laughs.

Someone clears their throat, and I glance over to see a very tall drink of water—or maybe even something a little spicier—staring down at me.

“Hello,” his gravelly voice says.

“Hello to you.”

He smiles, and my heart sputters a little. Stupid alcohol. He’s cute. Light brown hair, deep blue eyes, and perfect teeth. Which I like.

Teeth are a big thing.

He’s not as built as Tristan.

I stop that thought right in its tracks. I am not comparing men to him.

No.

Not just no—hell no.

“Would you like to dance?” the handsome stranger asks.

Suzanne and Mary Lou giggle. I nod slightly. “Sure, I’d love to.”

He extends his hand, and I take it, letting him pull me toward the dance floor. It’s a slow dance—of course it is. When he asked, it was a couples’ line dance that I could do with my eyes closed and several drinks down, but now I have no choice but to be close to him.

I don’t know why my mind has decided this is a bad thing.

However, I let him pull me against him, my hand on his shoulder, the other on his chest. He smells good, so there’s that.

I smile up at him. “I’m Lark, by the way.”

“I know who you are,” he says with a smile.

“You do?”

“Everyone knows you. Your family is a big deal in Infinity Ridge.”

This was true at a time when we were selling more horses than we could keep and weren’t ass up in debt, but I’m not going to correct him. “Seems you have me at a disadvantage then. I don’t know who you are.”

I really hope that’s the case and I don’t actually know him—not that Jose Cuervo has made me forget him.

Speaking of Jose. I wonder whether I should do another round. Sounds like a good idea.

He clears his throat, and I glance back up. He smiles. “I’m CJ.”

Not ringing any bells. “Have we met before?”

“No.”

That’s a relief. He turns me slowly, our feet moving to the song in a steady rhythm.

“Then it’s nice to meet you. Are you from here?”

“No, I grew up in Nevada, came out here to work on the Caulier ranch.”

The Caulier ranch is huge. It’s by far the largest, and they have a ton of cattle, sheep, and other livestock. There is always a steady stream of ranch hands going in and out of there.

“Well, welcome to town.”

He smiles brightly, his hand moving up my back slowly. “Thank you.”

I shift slightly, not loving how close he’s pulled me to him. I try to step back a little to look into his eyes. “How long have you been here?”

“Just about a month.”

“And are you liking it?” I ask.

“Much more lately.” CJ moves his head to be against my ear. “Much more right now.”

An uncomfortable shiver runs through me, but CJ doesn’t seem to catch on, and his other hand moves lower, resting right above my ass.

I really, really want this damn song to end.

I’ve met a lot of guys like him. New in town, just wanting to sleep with a local girl and hopefully get a job on her family’s farm, then screw her over, leave town—and a mess in his wake. I’m not stupid, and I don’t play that game.

My hand on his chest gives me a little leverage, and I’m able to create some distance, but CJ forces us closer again.

“You’re beautiful. So much prettier than any girl here,” he says low, pulling me tighter to him, where I can’t break away without causing a scene.