Natalie lowered her gaze. His business with females was his own. She’d learned her lesson the last time she’d brushed too close to him and ended up with a singed heart.
“I can think of one woman who’s given you plenty of action,” Natalie said, wondering what sort of trouble her best friend was getting into back in Deadwood while Coop, Harvey, and she were down in the desert.
“Don’t remind me of Parker,” he said, his voice borderline growly. “She’s part of the reason I needed a vacation.”
Deadwood had certainly been hopping since Violet moved to town and upset Coop’s applecart. Those two usually rammed their horns whenever they shared breathing space, which was another reason for Natalie to keep her distance from Coop. If she were to let herself fall head-over-heels for the boneheaded detective, she’d be stuck in the middle of their arguments.
“I am relaxin’ down here,” Harvey said. “Besides, I can relax horizontally same as I can vertically, if you get my meanin’, boy.” Harvey slapped Coop’s shoulder, wheezing out a chuckle. “Take that hot little dove who strutted in front of our rig this mornin’ wearing nothin’ but a robe and cowboy boots. My tail feathers are still ruffled about all of that smooth skin.”
“I told you, she was wearing peach-colored tights,” Coop said.
“We don’t know that fer sure.”
“You don’t, but I do.” Coop sent a grin his uncle’s way. “Your tail feathers get ruffled at the sight of any woman’s legs these days, especially if they’re bare.”
“That’s not true. Yer Aunt Gertrude’s legs make me tuck tail and run.”
Natalie stared at Coop’s profile as he laughed at his uncle’s exaggerated display of shuddering and cringing. Who was this guy with the easy chuckle and smiling eyes? She had only seen a glimpse of him once before—the night she’d joined him in the alley behind the bar and let him explore her bare skin both north and south of the border.
Her fingers itched to reach out and explore his skin.
She clenched her fist. Damn Coop for driving clear to Arizona for his so-called vacation. And double damn him for acting like they were just old pals. Not once last night at The Shaft had he tried to touch her, not even when he’d corralled her in the narrow hallway leading to the bathrooms to tell her he was heading back to the RV park to catch some shut-eye.
And that was a good thing, she reminded herself, because she was still taking a break from relationships with the opposite sex.
Right. Taking a break.
She plucked at a loose string in the seam of her jeans. But was having sex once with someone technically called a “relationship”? People had one-night stands all of the time and managed to …
Stop it!
She blew out a breath and leaned her head back against the seat, closing her eyes. It would help her willpower a lot more if she couldn’t smell the heady scent of his spicy cologne in the cab. Just breathing brought back flashes of that one freaking night.
Who was she kidding? Hell, she was halfway in a relationship with him already in her heart and there wasn’t even any sex in the picture yet.
That was all the more reason not to let it progress any further physically.
Criminy. This week was going to be one long game of tug-of-war between her head and her heart.
A few minutes later, the pickup slowed.
“Accordin’ to the map, this is the parkin’ lot,” Harvey said, paper rustling.
Natalie opened her eyes. There were two other vehicles in the gravel lot parked next to a small restroom—another pickup and an SUV. She looked around at the hillsides. “Where is the fort?”
“Ya gotta hike to it.” Harvey held up the map.
“How far?” Coop asked, shutting off the engine.
“A mile and a half each way.” He pointed out the window at a large, square signboard with a shingle-roof covering it. “Looks like the trail starts there.”
“Let’s go check it out,” Natalie said, eager to be outside of the cab for a while. She shut her door behind her.
Coop joined her in front of the pickup a moment later, but without Harvey.
“What’s he waiting for?” she asked.
“He’s not coming.”
“What? Why not?”
Coop shrugged. “He said he doesn’t feel like hiking.”
She stalked over to the half-open passenger side window. “Come on, Harvey. If you can spend the night dancing with all of the dames at the senior center up in Deadwood, you can hike to the fort ruins and back.”
He held up a book with a half-naked entwined couple on the cover for her to see. “I’m going to relax like Coop said and read this here informative book I found in the library at the General Store. Maybe I’ll take a siesta in between the sex scenes.”
Natalie crossed her arms. “You’re going to read a romance novel instead of coming to see Fort Bowie with us?”
“I should smile,” he shot back.
She turned to Coop. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s his new way of saying yes,” he said with a smirk. “He read that phrase in a Zane Grey book on the trip down and has been driving me nuts with it ever since.”
“You two whippersnappers run along and take some pictures for me.” Harvey yawned extra big.
Natalie wasn’t buying his sleepy act. The old buzzard was playing cupid and she wasn’t keen on being hit by any love arrows. “Harvey,” she growled.
“Be sure to drag anchor plenty along the way. I have lots of hot sex to keep me busy.”
Natalie turned to Coop. “We drove all of the way down here to see the fort and you’re going to let him blow it off?”
Coop shrugged. “I can’t force him.” He started toward the trail, walking backward. “You coming or not?”
After
