Chapter 11

Dawson jumped off Bolt and rubbed him down, taking off his saddle and halter before giving him a small sugar cube that he ate eagerly. “Good boy,” he crooned in his horse's ear as he curried the sweat and straw out of Bolt's mane. “You've been doing so good,” he told him. Bolt's ear flickered. He may not understand what Dawson was saying, but he did understand that tone of voice.

While Dawson cleaned up his horse for the day – yet another first place win for Bolt and him – he wondered eagerly if Chloe and Tommy were going to be there that night. He'd asked Chloe to stay after the calf roping event was done, but she'd just shrugged and told him she'd think about it. He wanted to know; the suspense was starting to get to him.

Finally done with cleanup, he led Bolt to a horse stall in the Long Valley County Barn, a place he could rent out for Bolt during the rodeo. Some people kept their horses in the horse trailer the whole time, saving on fees, but Dawson never did. He wanted to treat his best friend and working buddy the absolute best way possible. With a final pat to his neck, Dawson headed back out in search of Chloe and Tommy. Her bright blonde hair contrasting against his pitch-black hair shouldn't be hard to spot, right? Dawson searched through the crowds milling about, the sidewalks between vendors full of couples and families out for an evening together.

Had she left after all? Had Tommy gotten sick again? Dawson had only given in to Tommy's pleadings once and had let him eat one ball of cotton candy. But surely that didn't make him sick. Maybe she just didn't want to be around Dawson. Maybe, despite how warm and open she'd seemed that morning, she was second guessing her choice to have him in her life again. Maybe—

The flash of platinum blonde hair caught his eye and he spun towards the sight, spotting the top of her head through the crowds. Hurriedly, he wove his way past slower pedestrians, suddenly anxious to get to her. He wanted to see her face, wanted to see Tommy's face, wanted…

Except, she was alone. He glanced around, looking for Tommy – maybe he'd wandered over to look at a vendor's booth – but Chloe's voice cut through the noise around them. “He's still not feeling good,” Chloe said. “I dropped him off at Adam and Ruby's house for the night. I appreciate you only giving him one ball of cotton candy today, but I think it was still a little much for an already sensitive stomach.”

Dawson had finally gotten to her and, picking up her hands, stared down at her. Oh, she was beautiful. He wondered for a moment if she even realized how much it hurt – in the best way possible – to see her smile at him. Something he'd never expected to see again.

“Sorry. I thought I was being good by only giving him one wand of it. His soulful brown eyes staring up at me? He’s sure hard to resist.”

Much like his mother, except his eyes are brown instead of a rich green.

“Oh, I’ve noticed,” she replied drily, the edges of her eyes crinkling in amusement. “He’s been plying his wares on me for eight years. I’ve just grown a thicker skin.”

They began wandering through the booths then, hand in hand, the smell of fair food and bull poop mixing together to create a rich aroma that can only be found at county fairs.

It was a smell he adored.

“So, did you see my win?” he asked a little too casually. She nodded. “Just one more day and the Sawyer Stampede is over. But do you know what a winning cowboy likes to do to celebrate their wins?” He pulled them to a stop and gathered her against him, nestling her between his thighs.

She shook her head and then said hesitantly, “Dawson, I don’t know if I’m—”

“They like to take their favorite girl out dancing,” he broke in. “You ready to do some Boot Scootin’ Boogie-ing with me?”

She laughed, the concern and hesitation gone. “Yes, I’d love it!” she said happily.

He grabbed her hand, soft and slim in his roughened bear paws, and began pulling her towards the large grassy area where music had begun thumping already. He’d thought she’d love it – she may not have been into horses growing up, but she did years of dance. The times he’d seen her in tights…well, the memories still made him break out into a sweat.

They joined a line dance, and once…did she mean to swing her hip and bump his? He glanced over and her eyes, lit up and green and brilliant, gave him his answer.

Dawson Blackhorse, Ms. Chloe Bartell is flirting with you. Don't hesitate – seize the moment!

So as the line began moving the other direction, he did a hipcheck on her. She grinned up at him, and her tongue flicked out over her pink, rosy lips.

He felt his groin tighten in response. Oh man, she was delicious. He had visions of that amazing mouth going down on him and he closed his eyes for just a moment, breathing in through his nose, out through his mouth. He had to keep himself under control. At least in public.

The live band switched over to The Dance by Garth Brooks, and all thoughts of keeping himself under control were swept away as Dawson roughly pulled Chloe into his arms. He wanted – no, needed – her there. Against him. He pulled her against his body and they swayed to the music, listening as the haunting lyrics rang out.

The song finally ended, and Dawson reluctantly stepped back. It was hard to drop his arms, to not be holding Chloe against him and he hesitated for a moment. Maybe he could –

“Hey Dawson!” someone said, slapping him on the shoulder. Dawson swallowed hard and turned to see Rex, a bull rider and someone who he usually loved to see, standing there. “You're killing it in the rankings right now. I can't wait to see how you do tomorrow! Are you going to the Northern Rodeo Association Finals in Billings after this?”

Without even looking, he felt Chloe stiffen and then move away.

Well, this is what I get for not talking to her before now. Dawson could've cursed a blue streak in frustration, but bit down on his tongue instead.

“No,” he told Rex. “I have a kid here, turns out, and so I'll be here for the long run. I don't know if I'll continue the rodeo circuit or not, but I'm not going anywhere, not for a long time.”

Rex's eyes flicked towards Chloe's stiff back as she chatted with some other dance attendees, attempting to smile as she talked to them. Even from here, Dawson could see it was forced, and his gut twisted.

“A kid, huh?” Rex said, the surprise evident on his face. He paused for just a second, his eyes flicking back and forth between Dawson and Chloe. “Well, I see…" Rex said slowly, and winked at Dawson. “I’m going to head down to O’Malley’s and get a bite to eat, but I'll see you around. Wish you all the best,” he said, jerking his head towards Chloe, and then disappeared into the crowd, his white cowboy hat quickly swallowed up by the hundreds just like it.

Dawson headed towards Chloe, his fists clenching and then releasing as he walked. He was not going to let a little misunderstanding come between them, not after all they've been through already.

He slipped his arm around Chloe's waist, which caused her to stiffen even further. “Let's dance,” he whispered in her ear. The band had obligingly switched back to a slow song, so he was able to pull Chloe away from her discussion with the gaggle of women and back to the dance floor, which in this case was just a giant swath of grass.

At least he didn't have to try to talk to her while doing the Macarena. Small blessings.

He pulled her into his arms and unlike last time, where she'd been pliable as putty, this time she was unbending, as rigid and cold as a bar of steel.

“Rex is an old rodeo friend,” he said, figuring that facts were always a good place to start. “He doesn't know that I’ve been thinking of maybe staying here for a little while.” Instead of softening her up, this just seemed to make her more stiff. Not exactly his intended effect. “I don't want to leave, Chloe. Not right now. Not when I'm just starting to get to know my son.” He stopped swaying and lifted her chin to meet his eyes. People continued dancing around him but neither of them noticed. They were in their own world, their own universe, as they stood there.

“I don't know where this is going between you and I, or if it's even going anywhere. What I do know is that I'm not ready to walk away from you or Tommy. Give us some time.”

She softened a little – just a smidge. But it happened. He smiled, feeling victorious. It was amazing what a little looseness, a little relaxation of the mouth, could do for his soul.

“For right now, let’s just be us. Let’s dance.”

She nodded and lifted her arms, draping them around his neck. He pulled her close, and as the music flowed around them, they swayed and laughed and fell just a little bit in love.

They tumbled through the front door, Chloe shushing Dawson as they went. “You're going to wake up Tommy,” she whispered loudly.

He couldn't hold back his laugh, he really couldn't. It was a real treat to see Chloe drunk. Between dances, he got her soused on wine coolers, an increasingly entertaining state of being for her.

“Chloe, you dropped Tommy off at Adam's house, remember? I gave him cotton candy so he wasn't feeling good…?”

“Oh!” she said, her eyes rounded in surprise. “I forgot about that. I can't believe I forgot that. How did I do that?”

“A lot of wine coolers,” he said drily.

“Huh.”

Which seemed to be all she had to say on the topic, which was fine by him. He wanted her in bed, and that meant less talking and more walking.

He grabbed her hand and began pulling her up the stairs. “I think we should visit a certain bedroom,” he said as he tugged. She stumbled up behind him, her coordination completely gone.

“The guest bedroom?” she asked and he realized that she was at least with it enough to make jokes.

“If you'd like,” he teased. “I was thinking a bigger bed might be nice, though. A king, perhaps?”

“Ohhhh…for a king-sized guy?” she asked, laughing.

“You could say that.” He'd let her judge size when they'd disrobed. Arizona was a long time ago, and she was a virgin at the time. She didn't have much experience to judge by last time.

They got to her bedroom door, and despite his teasing tone, Dawson realized that he really did feel special to be there. Last time she'd allowed him to get this far, he'd taken advantage of her on top of a pool table, he'd laughed at her gift to him, and then he'd walked away.

This time, he was going to make love to her. He was going to make her scream in delight.

He was going to make her his.

He’d stopped in the doorway and Chloe began to walk around him to get into the bedroom but he blocked her with his body. “Let me,” he said, and scooped her up into his arms. She threw her arms around his neck and squealed in surprise.

“You should warn a girl before you do something like that,” she said, laughing with delight. Her laughter belied her stern words, and he grinned down at her, feeling like he'd won some great prize. And he had. For Chloe to allow him back into her life was truly a wonderful prize.

He carried her, bouncing her up into the air a few times as he walked, listening to her squeal, pressing her body closer to his, and then once he got her to the bed, he dropped her. Bouncing across the bed, she howled, “Whaddya do that for?”

“'Cause all the best parts of you bounce when I do,” he growled and, shucking his clothes as quickly as his fumbling fingers would allow him, he crawled across the bed towards her. She licked her lips in anticipation, looking him up and down as he moved towards her.

“Oh my,” she sighed happily.

Which was pretty much all he had to say on the topic, too.

He moved over her, kissing his way up her delectable hip bones, her adorable innie belly button, her gorgeous breasts with a mole on the right one, reminding himself to go back and explore that more later, and finally, he was up to her mouth and was kissing her, and she was moaning again. He settled himself between her thighs, about to move inside, when he remembered.

Oh wow, he almost got her pregnant again. Wouldn't that just be ironic. He rolled off her and went in search of his wallet, his hands shaking with need.

“Wha…” she asked drowsily, opening her eyes and trying to focus on him.

“I just need to keep Tommy 2 from arriving nine months from now,” he said, chuckling as he rolled the rubber into place. Finally suited up, he moved between her thighs and this time, he was able to come home.

All of the traveling he'd done over the past nine years, and all of the places he'd gone, no one had felt as amazing as Chloe did. She was his north star. Sinking into her, he began thrusting, her warmth surrounding him, and he was so afraid he was going to make a fool out of himself by only lasting moments but she felt so good and it was almost impossible to hold himself back and then she was raising her hips, meeting every thrust with equal passion, equal vigor, and he was slamming in, his vision whiting out and he was coming, pumping, his back rigid as he spilled himself into her, unable to speak or think but only be.

It was endless and yet only moments, and then he was collapsing onto her with a happy sigh, nuzzling her neck, smiling against it.

He was finally home, and he was never going to leave again.