| Sample
Chapter For HOW FAR WILL YOU GO? by Barbara Baldwin
Kelly Baker had always been the one willing
to take a dare. That attribute had led to her breaking her leg by jumping
off a garage roof in grade school, getting rip-roaring drunk on beer at
a party in middle school, and losing her virginity to Lou Kincaid after
the Spring Fling when she was a sophomore in high school.
That last thought slammed into her chest, constricting
her breathing when the aforementioned person walked into the Crystal Water
Café late one summer afternoon.
Walked wasn’t exactly how Kelly would describe the
arrogant swagger and rolling gait of the boy she hadn’t seen in
the last ten years. In fact, boy certainly wasn’t the right word
either, but then again her brain had turned to mush the moment he had
come through the door. She never would have recognized him if it hadn’t
been for the scar curving across his cheek to the edge of his jaw.
So why was he showing up in Dexter now?
“Are you listening, Kelly?” Maggie rattled
the papers under Kelly’s nose.
“What?” She couldn’t drag her gaze from
the tight jeans clad butt that had just straddled a stool up at the counter.
Loukota Kincaid, in the flesh. And oh, there was so much more to his flesh
than there had been in high school.
“The reunion. Hello?” Maggie tried to capture
her attention again, then turned to see what Kelly was staring at.
“Oh, my,” her best friend breathed. “I
forgive you.”
Kelly didn’t bother answering, her gaze riveted
on Lou, or what she could see from the back, which was enough to make
her heart beat faster and her breath catch.
Of course, he looked nothing like the kid that she had
made out with back in high school. Then, he had worn glasses and had braces
on his teeth and he had been several inches shorter than her five foot,
eight inch gangly frame. What had started out as a dare from her friends
had turned into the most mind-boggling sex she had ever had.
Well, given that she was a virgin when she and Lou wrestled
in the hayloft at his parents’ ranch, she hadn’t had anything
to compare it to back then. However, even in her naivety she had realized
that nineteen-year-old Lou had certainly known his way around a girl's
erogenous zones.
“Who on earth is that hunk?” Maggie whispered,
though Kelly figured her voice could probably be heard next door.
“Shh. It’s Lou Kincaid.”
“No way!”
“Yes, way.”
“But he was…” Her friend gestured with
her hands, apparently unable to come up with any adjectives to properly
describe him.
“A nerdy, Future Farmer of America, hayseed cowboy?”
Kelly quirked a brow.
Her friend’s eyes grew round as she nodded. “And
you made out with him!”
“Yeah,” Kelly sighed. The dare had been only
to neck, get a hickey to prove she had, and report back to her friends.
She had never even told Maggie what had really happened.
“Man, how come he didn’t look like that in
high school?” Maggie groused.
He had; or at least Kelly had seen the potential when
he had stripped down in the hayloft, tossing his glasses to the ground.
She remembered his eyes, dark with passion, so different when not hidden
behind the thick lenses of his glasses. Working on the ranch and wrestling
steers had given him broad shoulders and tight muscles even back then,
but Kelly could see he had filled out considerably in the years since.
“Are you going to wait on him?” Maggie hunched
over the table to whisper to her.
Kelly’s stomach dropped. It was slow that afternoon
at the Crystal Water Café, so she had told Maggie to come down
to go over plans for the reunion. She looked down at the candy-striped
apron she wore over a white tee shirt and jean shorts. There was nothing
wrong with hard work, so why was she suddenly embarrassed that Lou might
think she still worked in her mom’s café after all these
years?
She had no idea what he had done with his life since he
left the small town of Dexter, Colorado after graduation. Two years later,
she had gone off to college and a career, and had only come home six months
ago to help her mom after her dad died. From the looks of his clothes,
he must still be riding the rodeo circuit, but somehow, she just knew
he had made something more of himself.
Probably something grand that involved lots of prestige
and money. And with his looks, no doubt had women at his beck and call.
Now why did that disturb her so much?
“Ouch!” She jerked her arm back when Maggie
pinched her. “You’ve been doing that to me since grade school
and I wish you’d stop!” she hissed under her breath.
“Well, geez, maybe if you paid attention, I wouldn’t
have to.” Maggie wrinkled her nose. “Get your butt over there
and talk to him.”
Kelly sighed. Her mom was off this afternoon and Bill
apparently wasn’t coming out of the kitchen. In the middle of a
weekday afternoon, that only left her. She slid out of the booth.
“Okay, but no snickers from the peanut gallery.
And for God’s sake, don’t holler my name across the room.
Maybe he won’t recognize me.”
She quickly came around the end of the counter, grabbing
a menu along the way. She laid it on the counter in front of him, willing
her voice to come out normal.
“May I help you?”
The minute he lifted his head and his gaze found hers,
she had to clutch the edge of the counter to keep from melting right into
a puddle. Those eyes were just as dark as she remembered, his hair just
as black. He wore it rather long, and the wind had blown it into a tousled,
bad boy style. His western shirt was open part way down his chest and
she could see that he was deeply tanned. Whatever he did with his life,
he apparently did it without a shirt the majority of the time. The very
thought made her hot.
Without taking his eyes off her, he lifted the menu. His
hands were big; the faintest hint of dark hair dusting his knuckles. Her
breasts ached with the thought of those hands caressing her. Damn, it
had been ten years and it wasn’t like she had been celibate since
then.
She returned her gaze to his face. He quirked a brow in
question. She wasn’t about to offer any information about herself,
if that was what he wanted. Thank God her mom didn’t require them
to wear nametags.
“What’ll you have?” she said instead.
That brought a grin to his lips. His mouth had changed.
His lips were fuller and his smile quirked up higher on one side than
the other. She noticed a tiny spot of gold on one of his front teeth,
right where it touched the next.
“What are you offering?” The innuendo in his
words had her stomach rolling. Since he didn’t act like he recognized
her, she could only assume that he talked to all women that way. That
thought effectively shut down her raging hormones.
“You’re too late for breakfast and too early
for dinner,” she said. “So about all you’ll get is a
burger and fries.”
“That’s all?” The grin was still there
and try as she might, she couldn’t keep an answering smile off her
lips.
“There might be some pie left,” she conceded.
“If I remember, Nancy’s peach pie is the best
in five counties. Got any of that?”
She turned to get his pie and thought about telling him
that her mother didn’t bake the pies any more. She did.
“Can I have some coffee to go with that?”
She placed the pie in front of him and poured a mug of
coffee. She automatically moved the cream and sugar within reach, knowing
that was how he drank it. He reached for the sugar at the same time and
their hands touched.
Absolute awareness shot through Kelly, hotter than the
Front Range in July. She could feel her face flush, her breasts swell,
and an ache began between her thighs. Her hand shook as she quickly pulled
it back, knowing she had to get away from him before she did something
really stupid. Like jerk his body right over the counter and ravage him
on the spot.
She fled to the kitchen without looking back.
* * * *
Kelly Baker. Lou couldn’t believe it was her. He
had only come to the Crystal Water Café in hopes of asking her
mother her whereabouts. He hadn’t actually expected her to be working
here in Dexter after all these years.
He’d had the hots for her from the minute she started
high school but had refrained from acting on it because he knew the minute
he asked her out, there was no way he was going to stop with a few good
night kisses at the door. Besides, he had been the geek with glasses and
braces, and she had played volleyball and ran with the most popular kids
in school. But when she had asked him to the Spring Fling dance his senior
year, he had readily accepted, even though he had found out it was because
of a dare from her friends.
Now, one particular part of his male anatomy jerked to
attention as she turned and practically ran to the kitchen. Damn, she
had a sweet ass. She had certainly filled out to generous proportions
since he had last seen her.
He took a bite of pie and rolled his eyes heavenward.
Colorado peach pie; there was nothing better. For all the traveling he
did, overseas and stateside, he still favored the simple food he had been
brought up on. Meat and potatoes, fresh vegetables, fruit in the summer,
and peach pie.
He looked around the old café. The girl who had
been sitting with Kelly when he first came in was gone. He could barely
hear Kelly’s voice talking to someone in the kitchen. The cook he
supposed. He drained his coffee mug and thought about banging it on the
counter so she would have to come out and give him a refill.
He smiled when he thought of her nervousness. He didn’t
know if it was because she recognized him or not since she hadn’t
said anything. Damn, he couldn’t get over the fact that she was
right here in town. He contemplated his good fortune.
Of course, he wasn’t back home on vacation. He was
working, but given the circumstances, he figured there would be plenty
of free time on this job.
Absently lifting his mug again, he frowned, then simply
reached over the counter and grabbed the handle to the coffee pot, filling
it himself. He groaned at the stretch of muscles as he carefully sat back
down. Why had he said he’d use the rodeo as a cover for his work
this time? Although he frequently rode, he no longer followed the rodeo
circuit, and his muscles were telling him he was too old to be doing it
now.
He’d been practicing for nearly a week out at his
folks and though his cutting time was getting better, his dad had laughed
when he said he was entering the competition at the fair.
“I’d suggest you print yourself up some credentials
stating you’re a salesman or some such,” Louis Kincaid had
said just that morning when Lou had fallen off one of the mustangs his
dad was taming. His dad knew what he really did for a living, but as far
as Mom knew, he simply owned his own security company. If she knew it
was far more involved and dangerous than that, she would probably try
and forbid him from leaving the house, even though he was thirty years
old.
Checking his watch, he noticed it was close to chore time
and it would take him a good thirty minutes to get out to the ranch. Kelly
still hadn’t ventured out of the backroom and he grinned as he shook
his head. Well, maybe she just needed a little incentive and Lou figured
he was just the man for the job.
Taking a couple bills from his wallet, Lou jotted a note
on a napkin and left it all by his empty plate. Whistling, he walked out
the door into the late afternoon sunlight.
* * * *
“Oh, God, he knows.” Kelly practically whimpered
when she saw his note. She had surreptitiously been keeping an eye on
him from the kitchen but couldn’t make herself come out until she
saw him leave. Now, she looked down at the scribbled words and clutched
the napkin to her breast.
How about a roll in the hay? It said, followed by only
the initial ‘L’.
She quickly looked out the café windows but he
had already disappeared. A dozen questions bounced around in her head.
Where was he staying? What had brought him back to Dexter? And most importantly,
did he really mean what he had written on the napkin?
The bell over the door tinkled and she gave a sigh. There
would be no time to find out the answers to her questions now.
“Hey, Kelly, what’s happening?”
“Hi, Heather. I’m glad you’re here.
I’ll let you take over and I’ll get busy on tomorrow’s
pies.” Heather was another of the waitresses who worked the evening
shift. She was only eighteen and would be leaving for college in the fall,
but for the time being, she was efficient and could handle just about
anything that came up.
While Heather started fresh coffee and filled the various
condiment containers, Kelly went into the kitchen, automatically getting
out the ingredients for her piecrusts. She usually made the crusts at
night, putting them in the fridge so it was less to do in the morning.
Her mom opened the café at six and Kelly would come in later and
make pies, helping wait tables if it got too busy for Becky and Mom.
She worried about her mother, who hadn’t been the
same since her dad died. He had only been fifty-six, but the cancer had
taken him quicker than the doctors had expected. Kelly had mixed emotions
about her dad’s death. They had never been close; in fact, had fought
constantly but she loved her mother dearly, and it had scared her to death
when she had gone into a deep depression even before her dad died. That
had been the impetus for quitting her job with the Pentagon and staying
in Dexter after the funeral.
She rolled the pastry into a neat circle, almost perfectly
matching the size to the pie plate she slipped it into. She laughed at
her flour-coated hands. Little over half a year ago, these same hands
could fly over a computer keyboard faster than you could see; translating
computer language; breaking codes, and doing myriad other tasks that her
job as computer analyst required.
Oh, well, life was unpredictable, and at times, she enjoyed
the slower, laid back pace of Dexter better than the high level, hectic
life in DC.
Especially now, she added, as she took the folded napkin
out of the pocket of her apron when she hung it on the peg for the night.
She thought about calling Lou’s folks, figuring even if he wasn’t
staying out at the Rocking K, they would probably know how to contact
him. Her stomach flip-flopped at the thought.
What would she say? Hi, where’s Lou? I want his
body.
While it was true beyond a shadow of a doubt, she decided
she was going to wait for him to call her. After all, it had been ten
years; what was another day or two?
She tucked the napkin into her bra with a sigh, knowing
that another day or two meant an equal number of nights when she would
probably not get any sleep at all. And if she did, her dreams would be
full of a dark-haired man with the face of an angel and a body that would
tempt a saint.
* * * *
Lou had helped his dad with the chores, eaten supper with
both his parents, and now at two in the morning he sat in a small, cramped
hidey-hole in the side of the mountain waiting for something to happen.
There was no moon to lighten the hills and gully that he scanned with
the infrared binoculars, yet if a twig moved, he would know it.
From the time he was five, his grandfather Wicasa had
taken him up into the mountains, showing him how to follow tracks, learn
the name and nature of every tree, bush and flower and how to live off
the land. His grandfather had been full-blooded Dakota, as was his mom,
and Lou missed him on nights like this. Even though it was summer, the
evenings in the foothills of the Rockies got cool and Wicasa would have
started a small fire, feeding it dried, broken sticks that Lou had gathered
from the ground.
“Never cut a living tree when you can gather from
the ground beneath it,” Grandfather would say. “You may need
that tree for shelter, or climb it to keep away from a wild animal.”
His grandfather’s name meant Sage, or wise one in Dakota and Lou
remembered everything the old man had ever taught him.
That knowledge came in handy in his current job, although
usually he was in a city environment. Still, many of the lessons could
be applied there as well.
As quickly as he thought it, he pulled the knife from
his boot and came to a crouch; the snap of a twig alerting him that someone
was nearby.
“Shit.” The single expletive allowed Lou to
relax his stance, recross his legs and drop to the ground.
“You’re about as quiet as that plague of cicadas
that infested DC this spring,” Lou said to the man who came to squat
beside him.
“Yeah, well, not all of us have your aptitude for
stealth,” Domonic Harris complained. “Damn, it’s cold
tonight.”
Lou couldn’t chance a fire that could be seen for
miles, and had dressed accordingly. He noticed that his partner also had
on the special thermal gear that would keep the damp air away from his
skin. Dom just liked to bitch.
“Anything?” Dom lifted Lou’s binoculars
to his eyes, carefully scanning the area just as Lou had minutes ago.
“Nothing. If our information hadn’t come from
a reliable source, I would begin to think this is a hoax.” National
Security Intelligence Corporation, the company Lou and Dom owned together,
had been hired to keep the CoKan Beef Packing Plant under surveillance.
Word had come through Homeland Security of possible terrorist activity
somehow related to CoKan. The plant was in close enough proximity to NORAD
that the government had been concerned.
Rather than send the Feds out at this point, N-sic had
been hired. It wasn’t out of place for either Dom or him to be seen
around Dexter—and thus the beef packing plant—since they had
both grown up here. Dom had come into town two weeks before Lou and had
gotten a job at the plant. Lou’s cover was simply a cowboy on the
rodeo circuit.
He groaned as he stood, stretching aching muscles that
had knotted after hours of sitting without relief. At the moment, he thought
Dom had the easier job slinging slabs of meat all day.
“I’m too old for this,” he said.
Dom snorted. “Try shoving cattle carcasses around
all day, then tell me you’re old.”
“Yeah, well, I’m making a call to Ashford tomorrow. No sense
in us hanging around here if he can’t come up with something.”
Nolan Ashford was their government contact and so far, hadn’t given
them much to go on.
“Maybe we should bring Tasha into the rotation,”
Dom stated, referring to a Fed that Ashford had working in Dexter. “It’s
getting tough working all day and spending half the night on the side
of a mountain.”
“Know what you mean. I’ll mention it to Ashford.”
Lou collected his fanny pack and lightweight blanket from the ground.
“Get some rest,” his partner said. “I
hear they’ve got some mean broncs for the rodeo. Wouldn’t
want you to get thrown and damage that pretty face of yours.”
“Kiss my ass,” Lou replied without heat. As
he trudged down the side of the mountain to where he had parked the truck,
he knew he wouldn’t get any sleep even when he crawled into bed.
Blue eyes and peach colored lips had been haunting his thoughts ever since
he had left the Crystal Water Café. Even the idea of terrorists
hadn’t kept him from thinking of what it would be like to get Kelly
Baker into the sack for some long overdue, extremely hot sex.
* * * *
Kelly had Tuesdays off, and after finishing up the laundry
and dishes, she took a shower and dressed. Finding herself at loose ends
until her five o’clock class, she grabbed her keys and hopped in
the Jeep. Instead of heading for the community center, she turned left
from her mom’s house and was soon crossing the bridge over the Crystal
River.
Like so many of Colorado’s rivers, this one was
as clear as its name. She didn’t know how far into the mountains
it started, but as it came down and through town, the water was cold and
clear all year round. Now that the snow had melted, the water wasn’t
as fast moving or turbulent, but it still cut a wide swath through the
countryside.
On the other side of the river on the outskirts of town,
the county fairgrounds spread out over several acres. Kelly could tell
herself she was just taking an early afternoon drive, but there was no
one around to lie to so she might as well admit the truth. She hoped Lou
was out here.
She didn’t have any reason to think that, except
that he had been active in rodeo years ago, and with the state championships
less than a month away, she could only assume that he was going to ride.
And maybe it was just plain wishful thinking, she told herself as she
parked the Jeep by the practice arena.
She walked around the backside of the grandstand to the
pens. Several people were milling around, working on horses, and a few
were riding. She was just about to give up when she heard someone call
his name.
“Hey, Lou, you’re up.”
She turned around to see Sonny Thompson climb up the wooden
rail of the arena, hooking a booted foot over the top. She followed his
gaze.
Lou was standing at the end of the grandstand, his back
to her, checking the cinch on his saddle. Kelly could feel her eyes narrow
because a gorgeous blonde was holding his horse by the bridle as she pet
its nose and talked to Lou. She couldn’t make out what they were
saying, but Lou laughed and the woman grinned. Who the hell was she? Not
a local, that’s for sure, but since the rodeo was the biggest event
Dexter had all year, there were any number of outsiders in town. Even
though Kelly hadn’t been in town long herself, she knew she would
have recalled seeing anyone with that color hair.
Probably out of a bottle, she thought, not in the least
sorry for being spiteful. She knew she had no reason to be jealous. It
wasn’t like she had a claim on Lou or anything. Mad at herself now
for coming out to see him, and glad that she hadn’t done something
to make a fool of herself, she started to turn and leave when the woman’s
gaze caught hers.
The woman said something to Lou and he immediately turned
towards her, pulling his hat lower on his forehead to shade his eyes from
the sun. A grin split his features as he started towards her, and like
the fool she had told herself she wouldn’t be, she stood rooted
to the spot waiting for him.
“Hey, Lou, you going to ride or what?” Sonny
called him again from the railing.
“Pull the next rider,” Lou answered, never
taking his eyes off hers. “I think I’m going to be busy.”
“Hi, Kelly. Didn’t see you there.” Sonny
hopped to the ground on her side of the fence. “Whatcha doing out
here?”
Kelly swung her gaze to Sonny, another guy she had known
all her life and had become reacquainted with when she moved back to town.
Before she could think of an answer, Lou was at her side.
“Oh, dumb question.” Sonny grinned; making
the assumption she had come out here to see Lou. She opened her mouth
to refute him, but broad shoulders suddenly blocked her view.
“Hey,” Lou said, tipping his cowboy hat back
on his head.
“Hey yourself,” she replied coolly as her
gaze slid back to where the blonde was patiently holding his horse. “Don’t
let me keep you from anything.” She could hear the snide sound of
her voice but couldn’t seem to help it. Jealousy flared quickly,
taking her by surprise.
Lou just grinned at her. “Wanna ride?”
“I haven’t been riding in years,” she
replied.
His voice dropped to a deep smoky timbre. “Oh, I
doubt it’s something you forget how to do.”
She immediately tingled in places she shouldn’t
have been tingling; especially given they were standing out in the middle
of the fairgrounds, people all around. She had the distinct impression
he wasn’t talking about riding a horse.
“I wondered yesterday if you remembered me.”
Like she could ever forget, Kelly thought, but didn’t
say. His nearness and the very male scent of him had her completely flustered.
“Can I take you to dinner?”
She finally found her voice. “I can’t. I’m
busy.”
He quirked a brow in question and she hurried to explain.
“I teach a conversational English class down at
the community center on Tuesdays.”
“Afterwards then.” He urged.
“No, I’m busy then, too.” She nervously
looked left then right, not meeting his gaze for fear he would see she
was lying. Well, not exactly. Tuesday was her night to hang out at the
Circle R and play pool with friends—nothing she couldn’t get
out of. She glanced at her watch.
“I’ve got to go. See you around.” She
quickly turned and walked away, but not before she heard his comment.
“You can count on it, babe.”
Her heart thudded all the way back to the Jeep. She climbed
in and dropped her forehead against the steering wheel with a groan. She
had come out here in hopes of seeing Lou, so why was she in such a panic
when she did? And why had she refused to have dinner with him?
The sharp tingling sensation between her legs gave her
the answer she didn’t want to acknowledge. She didn’t want
to have dinner with Loukota Kincaid; she wanted desperately to drag him
down to the ground and have hot, consuming sex with him any which way
he wanted it.
Reviews For
HOW FAR WILL YOU GO? by Barbara Baldwin
" How Far Will You Go? is a fun, heated romp that
showcases Barbara Baldwin’s talent of blending passion, friendship,
and suspense with characters that are sure to delight readers. Kelly and
Lou are as well matched out of bed as they are in. The author has crafted
their scenes in such a way that readers easily recognize the friendship
and passion that exists between them. Kelly’s explosive temper makes
for some entertaining moments, while Lou’s assignment in Dexter
adds an element of suspense. Their love scenes are not to be missed. As
these two discover just how far they will go for love, readers will be
hooked."
Reviewed by: Amanda 4 angels RECOMMENDED READ
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