Blue Skies Read Free Page A

fingers so long they curled over her wrist bone, his palm warm and slightly rough, yet another indication that the cowboy attire wasn’t just for looks. At her questioning expression, he grinned and tightened his grip. “Don’t go. Please. Spend the evening with me.”
    Before Carly could reply, the band broke into “Be My Baby Tonight.” Hank threw back his dark head and laughed. “Is that perfect timing, or what?” He caught her in his arms again and started singing along. By the time he reached the “could ya, would ya, ain’t-cha” part of the song and asked if she’d be his baby tonight, Carly was laughing too hard to feel self-conscious. He swung her in a wide arc that set her head to spinning. “Please, darlin’, don’t say no,” he murmured near her ear. “You’ll break my heart.”
    Carly leaned back to look up at him. She felt like a candle sitting on a sunny windowsill, her body warm and suddenly boneless. She knew she should end this before she waded in too deep. But somehow, knowing that and doing it were two different things. Would she ever get this chance again?
    “I’m here with a friend,” she reluctantly reminded him.
    “Ditch her.”
    “I can’t do that.”
    He wrapped both arms around her, pressed his face against her hair, and fell into a simple two-step. “Maybe she’ll hook up with somebody and ditch you,” he said with a hopeful note lacing his deep voice.
    Carly knew Bess would never do that. “Maybe,” she settled for saying.
    “Meanwhile, stay with me,” he urged softly.
    Carly nodded her assent. She felt his lips curve in a smile. When the song ended, he led her from the floor. At the edge of the crowd, the redhead he’d danced with earlier stepped in front of them to ask Hank to dance.
    Carly tried to pull her hand free. “I don’t mind, Hank.” It was easy to sound convincing. She’d been taking a second seat to other women all her life. “Really, I don’t. Go and have fun.”
    He tightened his grip on her fingers. “Sorry,” he told the redhead with an apologetic smile. “I’m bushed. We’re going to sit this one out.”
    The woman shrugged and moved on. Carly glanced after her. “Really, Hank, I wouldn’t mind. She’s a good dancer, and I’m—well, not.”
    “You’re fabulous, and there’s no way I’m leaving you. All my buddies would be after you like bees for honey.”
    He fell into a walk, leading her to a back corner. The blue haze of cigarette smoke that hung over the table burned her sensitive eyes, and the smell of beer was strong. “Maybe we can talk here,” he said as he drew out a chair for her. “Normally, I don’t mind the noise, but tonight, it’s a pain in the neck. I want to know everything about you.”
    Carly was relieved to lower herself onto the chair and escape the smoke. He sat next to her, turning his seat so they were facing each other.
    “Tell me about yourself, Charlie.”
    “Carly,” she corrected again.
    He nodded. “Gotcha. So tell me about yourself.”
    “There’s nothing much to tell.”
    “Age?”
    “I’ll be twenty-eight in August.”
    “I’ll turn thirty-two in December.” He arched a dark eyebrow. “What are you going to grad school for?”
    “I’m a teacher. I taught visually disabled elementary kids for two years. Now I want to get my master’s in special education.”
    “No kidding?” Amusement warmed in his eyes. “I love teachers.”
    “You do?”
    “Absolutely. They make a man do it until he gets it right.”
    Carly gave a startled laugh. The waitress appeared at their table just then. Hank ordered them each a beer. While they waited for their refreshments, he told Carly that he was a rancher. After their beers arrived, he explained that he was partners with his brother. They ran a few hundred head of cattle and bred and trained quarter horses for a living.
    “So you’re a real-life cowboy, not the dime store variety.”
    “Or a buckaroo. Not as romantic sounding, is it?