Her heart pumped wildly in her chest as they made their way to the door. Music was already pouring out into the night from the jukebox along with the sound of the occasional burst of laughter.
“Whatever they’re cooking in there smells good. It’s making me hungry,” Katie said.
They walked to the front door and immediately saw a chalkboard with the day’s specials.
“Bison burger.”
“Is there any other kind?” the hostess said, overhearing their conversation as she walked back up to the podium that held the chart with seating arrangements for the restaurant.
“Are you here for food or for the band?” the hostess asked.
“Both,” Katie said.
She glanced at Caleb, who had an expression of satisfaction he was trying to hide. His mood had changed considerably since they’d left the house.
The hostess quickly checked the bar and then the seating chart in front of her. “All my tables in the honky-tonk are full but I have some space at the bar. You can order some food there and the bartender will bring it out to you.”
Caleb nodded to Katie.
“That sounds great.”
As they weaved through the people moving about in the restaurant and made their way to the bar, Katie noticed there were a few people on the dance floor. The stage where the musicians already had their equipment set up was dimly lit. Music from the jukebox grew louder as they got closer to it. When the song ended, the few people who’d been dancing stopped and headed back to their tables.
They ordered their dinner, having the same thing, bison burgers and fries. Katie ordered a tall glass of sweet tea because she was driving, and Caleb had a beer from the tap.
Before the food came out the band started playing. They were good and played some of the country music songs Katie knew. When a particularly fast song came on, everyone in the room seemed to get up on their feet and either run to the dance floor, or clap and move to the music near their table.
Caleb took Katie by the hand and led her into the throng of people and they danced, laughing and spinning until the song ended. Sweat poured down her forehead from dancing and being in such close proximity with everyone on the dance floor. She watched Caleb, just to make sure he didn’t overdo it and get dizzy. Concussions were a funny thing. You could be okay one minute and then fall flat on your face the next. Caleb didn’t appear concerned.
Caleb glanced over her shoulder to where their place was at the bar just as a slow tune started to play.
“Our food isn’t out yet.”
Katie turned too and saw that the bar was empty. “So it seems.”
She turned back to Caleb and he looked down at her in a way she’d never seen before. “Dance with me, Katie Dobbs.”
His eyes were dark with heat that made her catch her breath. “We have been dancing.”
“That’s not good enough. I told you what I wanted in the car. I want to hold you in my arms on the dance floor.”
Without saying a word, she stepped into his arms and waited for him to wrap his arms around her, he took her hand in his and slowly guided her across the floor. The dance floor wasn’t nearly as crowded now that the fast tune had ended. It gave them much more room to move. But Katie liked just standing there with Caleb lifting her face and pressing her cheek against his. She felt his hot breath on her neck and could swear she heard the beating of his heart with every move he made.
Katie wanted to weep. It had been a long time since she’d been in the arms of a man. Since she had come back to Sweet, she’d had a total of one date and it had been a disaster. Both she and the man she was out on the date with admitted it and called it quits halfway through the night. They hadn’t even finished dinner. It was the one and only time she took a blind date from a well-meaning friend. And maybe for that reason alone, loneliness had settled into her over the winter in a way she’d never felt lonely before.
But being with Caleb was so easy. There was never any awkwardness. Without a doubt, he was the reason why that lonely feeling had ebbed over the last few weeks.
“You’re not half bad, Caleb Samuel.”
He pulled away just enough so he could look down at her and she could see his smile.
“Only half bad?”
“Actually, you’re pretty good at this. It makes me think you’ve had some practice.”
He cocked his head to one side. “Well, you know me and some of the other officers down at the station managed to do some dancing when things are slow. Just to keep up on it.”
She laughed. “Yeah, those slow nights can be rough.”
“Exactly.”
They began dancing again, and they resumed their position with his face so close to hers that she could feel the heat of his skin against her cheek. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder, letting the music and the touch of the man she was with fill her with peace.
But just as they began to fall into a rhythm, she suddenly felt Caleb’s muscles tighten under her hands. He pulled back abruptly and stared at a place beyond her at the bar.
Katie turned to see where Caleb was looking, but all she saw were two people running into the swinging door of the kitchen.
“What is it?” she asked.
Before he could answer, Caleb dropped his hands from her waist and ran through the bar towards the kitchen door. Then he disappeared.
* * *
Caleb could hardly believe his eyes. He’d only caught a quick glimpse of the woman standing by the doorway, and then she’d disappeared into the kitchen. His mind immediately registered Julie, his baby sister, who was no longer
