Cowboy Waltz Cameron Dane

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.“What’s the matter?” Putting the back of his hand to Jed’s forehead, Booker frowned.His knuckles didn’t get too hot or overly cold.“You feel okay, but you don’t look right.”Jed jerked away from Booker and gave him a hard glare.“It’s nothing.I’m missing an afternoon of work.I don’t like it.That’s all.”Bull crap.Better than eight months of sharing a trailer with Jed had done more than increase Booker’s vocabulary of curse words.Dozens of other memories moved with warp speed through Booker’s mind.Three particular nights—wherein Booker had quietly listened to Jed prowl like a caged animal—dinged high above the rest of the time line.Booker moved in front of Jed, blocking his sight line to outside, and looked dead-on into the man’s eyes.“You don’t sleep well when it storms.Don’t even try to deny it.I’ve heard you when the rain and thunder wake you up.” Jed swung his head away, but Booker moved with him and added, “I’ve noticed you don’t go back to sleep until everything is calm again.”His hands curling into fists, Jed bared his teeth.“If my pacing has the power to keep you awake, then I’m not working you hard enough.”Booker shot back, “It’s a small trailer.”Jed moved into Booker’s face, nearly nose to nose.“I told you that when you signed on.” The mercury in his gaze flashed pure ferocity.“If you don’t like it, you can leave.”Not feeling a bit of the cold whipping at his back, Booker matched his height and size against Jed’s and leaned in even more.“I’m not complaining.I’m making an observation.” He poked Jed in the chest with each word he uttered.“You.Don’t.Like.Storms.”Faster than the blazes of lightning outside, Jed wrapped his hand around Booker’s with punishing force and pried it away from his chest.Holding Booker’s fingers trapped in midair, Jed spoke through lips that barely moved.“Touch me with your finger like that again, and I’ll snap it off.” After crushing Booker’s digits one more time, Jed shoved Booker away and strode to the open door, giving Booker his back.What? Booker held his throbbing hand against his stomach, but the bruises to his pride and ego weakened him much more than his abused fingers.Hurt rocked through Booker’s core, even though he knew he had no right to be upset.What the fuck was I thinking, pushing into Jed like I did?Jed stood a few feet away, rigid, and the sight cut Booker to the core.Booker whispered, “I’m sorry.I stepped over a line.Maybe you don’t think you know me well enough yet to share your secrets and fears with me.Maybe you don’t get that I would take to the grave anything personal a friend tells me.Whatever the case, I didn’t mean to corner you and make you uncomfortable.” Every ounce of Booker’s being pushed at him, shoving him toward Jed, but this time Booker fought his heart, practiced some common sense, and took a decided step deeper into the barn.“I’ll go to the back and give you some space.”With that Booker spun and strode toward the tack room as fast as he could, away from the thousand questions he wouldn’t be able to suppress if he stayed close to Jed.Chapter ThreeShit.“Wait!” Without pause, Jed bounded and grabbed Booker before he got more than a few steps away.Jesus fucking Christ.Jed cursed his savage treatment of Booker, a young man whose sole crime was a never-ending curiosity for everything around him, including Jed.But hell, as much as Jed tried for patience and gentleness, every time he turned around, he found himself behaving too roughly with Booker or stepping on his feelings.Booker didn’t have nearly the life experience Jed did, and his natural enthusiasm to learn everything he could, all the time, every day, often scraped against Jed’s private and quiet nature.Sometimes Booker’s interest led to questions that made Jed’s hackles rise, but Jed had to remember the guy never meant any harm.“Come back.” Jed tugged Booker back to the door.Even as Jed kept one eye on the nasty weather outside, he glanced down at Booker’s hand and winced.Abruptly, he let go of Booker’s arm and retreated closer to the barn’s entrance.“I didn’t mean to threaten you.I apologize for handling you the way I did.”Tentatively, Booker drew close enough to look out the door too.“No, it’s okay.” Crossing his arms, he leaned his shoulder against the sliding door and watched the storm play out outside.“We haven’t even known each other a year”—his voice was as soft as Jed had ever heard it—“and here I am asking you all kinds of personal questions.It’s not my place.”“Hell’s bells, Colt.” Jed strived for breezy, even as his mouth went terribly dry.“It’s not a big deal.I just don’t like storms.That’s it.”“Why? No—” Straightening, Booker held his hands up in surrender.“Forget that.I don’t have any place asking you about stuff like this.” He shifted back, settling his shoulder against the wood, to stare at the rain.“We can wait this out quietly.”Acceptance visibly blanketed Booker, yet his very silence hit Jed like nothing so much as a punch in the gut.Jed felt as if he’d kicked Booker and ordered him to go stay in his corner and keep his mouth shut.Cold trickled down Jed’s back.Iciness crept into his flesh, something that had nothing do to with his damp clothes and everything to do with the fact that even though Booker remained standing in the same spot, he seemed to be in a dark tunnel, pulling farther and farther away from Jed.“Shit.” Terrible fire coated the ice licking at the back of Jed’s neck.He’s gonna disappear into the black in another second if I don’t grab him.Before Jed could think his idiocy through, he blurted, “If I’m keeping you up some nights, then I guess you have a right to information.Ask away.”Booker whipped his head around, and the glassy surface of bright green lighting his eyes sliced with precision into Jed’s core.“Okay.” Instead of flinging questions at Jed in rapid succession, though, he lowered himself to the floor and looked up at Jed.“Whatever you want to tell me, I want to listen.”Sweat popped up on Jed’s back under his wet T-shirt [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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