Belonging to Bandera

“To?”

“To follow her. Luckily, we don’t fall for female wiles in our clan.”

“Spoken too soon,” Bandera murmured. “Looks like we have Harley trouble up ahead.”

Mason stretched up to look. “I’m not one bit surprised. That garter is bad luck, and you’d be wise to hearken its warning unless you want a trip to the altar.”

“That kind of trip I don’t want,” Bandera said, stopping the truck alongside the motorcycle. His heart beat with pleasure at the sight of Holly. He really hadn’t figured he’d ever see her again. “And I don’t believe in bad luck charms.” Switching the engine off, he got out of the truck. “Need a hand?” he asked Cousin Mike, his eyes on Holly.

Mike bristled. “Not yours.”

“Lovely,” Bandera said. “We’ve met once and he likes me.”

Holly shook her head. “He’s generally personality-impaired. We love him anyway.”

“Probably because you don’t see each other often. But I’ll try to remember his dysfunction.” He stared at the motorcycle. “Nice machine.”

“It’s my baby,” Mike said mournfully. “But moody, I’ll admit.”

Bandera shook his head. “Load it into the back of the truck. We’ll give you a lift to the nearest town with a bike shop.”

Mike scratched his neck. “I guess I’ll have to take you up on that.”

“Oh, good,” Holly said. “This will be fun.”

Bandera wondered. Mason wasn’t inclined to be anything but superstitious, Mike was mourning his bike, Holly wanted to be kissed by a cowboy, and Bandera figured there had to be very little chance of that happening.

But he was going to keep a close eye on her. He did not like pain, especially where a woman was involved.

Holly went to the truck and slid in the back of the double cab next to Mason, before Bandera could help Mike get the Harley loaded. Mason looked petrified, and Bandera wondered if it would be too obvious if he asked his brother to drive so he could sit in back with Holly.

Yeah. Too obvious.

Sighing, he got in the truck. “Off we go,” he said. “Fun, fun, fun.”

HOLLY TRIED HARD not to watch as Bandera drove. Her gaze kept going to the rearview mirror, where she could see his eyes shaded by his hat. They were dark and mysterious, which she found appealing.

Her ex of a few hours had been blond and much thinner than Bandera Jefferson. Bandera was a very big, broad-shouldered man. Strength radiated from him, even from the sun lines around his eyes. She liked his squarish jaw and the way he looked at her like she was some curvy siren.

She could see her garter peeking out of the pocket of his denim western shirt. Why she had thrown it, she really couldn’t say. Until today, impulsive gestures weren’t her thing.

The garter had been stuck in her purse hastily as she’d grabbed things and left the church.

She’d only had time to scribble a short note for her mother and father, telling them that she was sorry and that she loved them. After guilt had hit her—she was leaving them to clean up the mess—she’d known in the next instant her mother would applaud her, her sister would be proud, and Daddy, well, Dad might just decide to put some sense into her ex.

She’d not written the real reason she was leaving. Her ex really wasn’t up to Henshaw family wrath.

Some wedding planner I turned out to be, she thought.

But no, the wedding would have been beautiful. Everything had been just right.

It was groom-picking she obviously needed help with.

Silence descended over the truck as the four occupants wondered what to say to each other. Bandera’s gaze met hers, and they both gazed quickly in opposite directions.

She glanced at Mason. His eyes were closed, but his jaw was tense. Then she looked at Bandera and found him watching her in the mirror again.

“Guess we interrupted your plans,” she said.

“Somewhat. We didn’t have a set schedule.”

“I did.” She looked at her French manicured nails. “But I’m changing course.”

“Sounds like the best thing to do right now. How come you weren’t at the wedding?” he asked Mike.

“I was headed there when I got the call that it was called off. Actually, I got about ten calls.”

“How?” Holly asked, surprised. “I didn’t tell anyone but you that I was leaving.”

“Your mother called my mother, who called me. Then your mother called me. Then your father. Then your ex-fiancé called me.”

“He did? They did? Why didn’t you tell me all this?” She noticed Bandera was listening with rapt attention, though trying to appear that he wasn’t.

“Because you surprised me when I picked you up and you were with these guys. I thought you might have gotten yourself into trouble.”

“I never get myself into trouble,” she said sternly. “And if I did, I’d know how to get myself out just fine. All I needed was a ride.”

“Anyway,” Mike said, “they called me after I was already on my way here to get you. Do you want to use my cell phone to call them?”

“I’ll call Mom and Dad later.” Chuck she was never going to call again.

“And Johnny?” Mike asked.

“His name was Chuck. What’s to talk about?” she demanded. “I think some things don’t require words.”

“I agree,” Bandera said, his tone way too cheerful. “Red bras in fruit bowls generally illuminate a situation better than linguistic artifice.”

“Ah,” Holly said.

“As does a ring left on top of a condom box.”

Cousin Mike cleared his throat.

Holly looked at Bandera.

“I’m sorry,” he said, as if only she could hear. “A lady like you deserves more considerate treatment.”

Her heart seemed to curl up and die with mortification, yet she appreciated Bandera’s efforts to comfort her. “It’s all right,” she said.

“No, it’s not. Did you know that the cognitive area of the brain, the part that helps make appropriate decisions, is the last to develop? It may not happen in some brains until twenty-four to twenty-six years of age.”

She blinked. “Are you making excuses for my ex? Are you saying his cognitive functioning was impaired?”

She thought she saw color rise up Bandera’s neck.

“No,” he said, “I’m saying you’ll be older the next time you choose a man, and you’ll know exactly what you want. This was obviously not the right man. And yes, he must have been cognitively impaired, not to mention character-stunted, to make a bad decision like that. I’m sure you couldn’t see any of that, however. I bet he sold himself to you as a regular prince.”

“He did,” she said sadly. “But he was no prince at all.”

“Precisely,” Bandera agreed cheerfully. “Now, the difference between you and me is that you agreed to be married. I wouldn’t dream of such a thing. My cognitive functioning will always be too impaired for me to select a wife.”

“Peachy,” Holly said. “And you’re not too proud to admit it.”

“No, I’m not. Did you know Confucius said that a gentleman has neither anxiety nor fear? I have both,” he boasted. “When it comes to the idea of matrimony, I am both anxious and fearful. I admire that you were even willing to consider it.”

“Do you study Confucius often?” Holly asked.

“I like quotes. They give me a point of reference in my life.”

She looked at him thoughtfully. “Are you super-intelligent, or just full of hot air?”

“Hot air,” Cousin Mike and Mason said in unison.

She leaned back and stared out the window. He probably was full of hot air. More than Chuck, even.

But Bandera did make her feel better, she admitted. It was the way he kept watching her—until she’d catch him, then he’d look away quickly—that told her he found her attractive. For a woman who’d found a bra thrown atop the bananas in her kitchen, it was some comfort that the cowboy seemed interested.

Of course, he probably sold every woman the wheelbarrow full of horse manure he was pushing. “Where are we going?”

“If I remember, there’s a bike shop up in Sweet-briar, just thirty minutes from here. If not, Charley will know where we can take your Hog,” he said to Mike.

“Thank you,” Holly said. “For going out of your way.”

“My pleasure,” Bandera replied, his voice deep and sincere. Holly glanced back to the mirror, finding his gaze on her once again, and this time she didn’t turn away. After a heartbeat passed, she quickly broke eye contact and went back to staring at the countryside, unable to acknowledge—or reply to—the masculine promise in his voice.

The very thought of his pleasure made her skin tingle. Made her glow inside.

She had to be crazy. She had to be suffering from canceled-wedding fever to even be looking at another man. She should be crying; she should be devastated.

Bandera handed her a tissue over the seat, which she took, but Holly knew she wasn’t going to need it.

“How’s your adventure so far?” he asked.

She met his gaze. “Getting better all the time.”

A cell phone rang, and Mike answered it gruffly before handing it over the seat to her. “Want to talk to the groom? Last chance before we cross the county line.”

She took the phone reluctantly, aware that Bandera was watching her every move, his eyes dark and hooded.

He wasn’t even going to pretend not to be listening. Maybe he was more rat than gentleman, she decided. “Hi,” she said, her tone not happy nor encouraging.

“Where are you?” Chuck demanded. “We’re all in the church waiting on you!”

“Who is waiting?” She frowned, knowing that her side of the family all knew there was to be no wedding. Surely his family knew, too. How much room for misunderstanding was there in leaving your engagement ring behind?

“My whole family and all my friends!” Chuck said, his voice rising in anger. “My side of the church is full, your side is empty. There’s not one single soul there, and I’m beginning to think that’s very suspicious, considering we sent out two hundred and fifty invitations!”

She realized Mason could hear her ex’s terrified voice when he pulled his hat down low over his eyes. There was only a foot of space between them, and he was obviously uncomfortable. “There’s not going to be a wedding,” she said, “at least not where I’m the bride and you’re the groom.”

“What in the hell are you talking about?” Chuck demanded. “Everyone is here! Waiting on you!”

“The minister?”

“Well, no. I’m sure he’s around somewhere, though.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Did you find the ring?”

“What ring?”

“The engagement ring you gave me. When you asked me to marry you and before you slept with my best friend.”

Sudden silence met that comment. Glancing Bandera’s way, she thought she saw a small grin hover around his lips.

“I did no such thing. I’m appalled you would even suggest it!” Chuck said, his tone self-righteous. “Is that why you’re not here? You’re standing me up in front of all my friends and family because of some stupid misunderstanding—”

“I was there,” Holly said quietly. “There was no misunderstanding. You’ll find the ring on the condom box.”

There was another silence. “Listen,” he finally said, no longer trying to mask his annoyance. “If you had ever slept with me, if you hadn’t been so intent on that no-sex-until-we’re-married crap, I wouldn’t have had to go someplace else to get what a man deserves!”

Everyone in the truck heard Chuck’s shout. Mason promptly cringed and Mike gave a deep sigh.

She wondered how deeply embarrassment could sink into her soul. Then Bandera pulled to the side of the road, stopped the truck and reached over the seat to gently take the phone from her hand. She could still hear Chuck raging as Bandera held the phone up over the seat.

“Let me show you how to put the past behind you,” he said kindly. “This is your past.” He closed the phone with a snap and handed it to Mike, who put it in his pocket. “See how easy that was?” Bandera asked Holly.

She blinked. “Just like that?”

He shrugged. “Over and out.”

She stared into his eyes, which were dark and warm and understanding. Something peaceful melted over her, soothing the dark, hurt places. “Thank you,” she said.

“Again, my pleasure.” He grinned. “Don’t ever let a man talk down to you like that. Now be a good girl and open that cooler your purse is resting on. Get Mike and Mason and yourself a beer, because you’ve all had a hard day.”

“Are you talking down to me?”

“No.” Bandera grinned. “I’m merely asking you to pass the boys a beer.”

“I’ll go for that,” Mason said. “Whew!” He fanned himself with his hat.

She looked at him askance. “What?”

Mason frowned. “Your fellow was a bit of a whiner, wasn’t he?”

A blush ran all over her as she remembered that everyone in the truck knew she hadn’t slept with her ex-fiancé—he’d certainly shouted his complaint loud enough. She handed Mason a beer, and then Mike, who snapped the top off and took a long swig.

“I was thinking about getting married once,” Mason said conversationally.

Holly thought she heard Bandera gasp. Her eyes met his in the mirror, but he quickly broke contact and stared straight ahead at the road. “Why didn’t you?” she asked Mason.

He scratched his head. “I never did figure that out exactly.”

“Oh?” Holly held the beer bottle between her hands, happy for the coldness to reduce the heat of her own mortification. She focused on Mason’s story. “Wasn’t the right time?”

“I suppose not.”

She looked at Bandera. “What about you? You have a sad story, too?”

“Hell, no,” he said. “My stories are all happy and they’re going to stay that way.”

“Really?” She leaned forward, her arms over the back of the seat, and looked at him thoughtfully. “Did you learn that from Confucius, too? The secret to eternal happiness?”

“No. I learned it from my family. Happiness was a survival skill.”

She glanced at Mason, who sat unmoving, the beer bottle hovering near his lips as he took in Bandera’s words. “That stinks,” he said suddenly. “I never thought about it before, but you’re right. Happiness was a survival skill, and I believe we all stunk at it.”

“Oh, come on, we were happy,” Bandera protested.

“We were something, but it wasn’t happy.”

“We were happy! Last was always telling us how good it used to be.”

Mason merely shook his head and glanced out the other window. Holly caught Bandera’s gaze on her and sent him a sympathetic look. Maybe their youth hadn’t been as happy as they were pretending? “Thank you for picking us up,” she told him.

“It was nothing. We had nowhere pressing to be.”

“Although we’d like to get there eventually,” Mason said with a growl. “You just reminded me why I travel light, without family.”

Holly’s brow puckered. “So we are getting you off track?”

“No,” Mason said with a sigh. “Our tracks are never quite straight.”

“That’s right. Everybody out. Holly’s going to sit up here by me, so that she can read the map for me.”

“I’m not a very good map reader,” she said quickly, “I’m afraid I’d get you even more behind than you are.”

“Yes, but that’s Mason time you’re worried about,” Bandera said. “My time is slow and easy.”

She blinked, caught by his words and the drawl. Without consciously wanting to, she thought about sex. Slow and easy sex. Lots of it. With Bandera.

Whew. Not ten minutes after her ex had bawled her out for making him wait until the wedding.

Something was wrong with her. She definitely had rebound fever.

“I cannot read your map,” she said decisively. You represent the lure of the unattainable, and I am in a weakened state.

Mike hopped out, taking his beer with him. “Out,” he said to Holly. “Go read the man’s map.”

“Now, look,” she protested. “I don’t know that I like traveling with three men who are developing caveman instincts!” Sitting next to Bandera was going to get her nothing but trouble. She had a funny feeling he had cracked her code: sensitive, brokenhearted female needs a little male attention, some savvy sweet talk, a little cowboy chivalry and, shazam! She’s saved from a tragically unhappy ending!

“We’re not cavemen,” Mason said. “We’re trying to treat you like the lady you are.”

She hesitated. Mike shrugged. “I like them,” he said to her. “Better than Chuck.”

“We don’t know them,” she said. “And they’re men.”

“Ahh,” the three men chorused.

“What?” Holly demanded.

“Man issues,” Bandera said. “Even before the big breakup, you had man issues.”

“You’re a freak,” she said, “and I’m going to read your map for you, just so you can have plenty of time to think over your own issues once I get us all good and lost.”

“Drop me off at the bike shop before you lead us the wrong way,” Cousin Mike said. “I fancy a card game with some fellow bikers.”

She sighed and crawled into the front seat. “I have now entered the danger zone,” she said, her tone a trifle mocking.

“You have no idea,” Bandera declared with a grin.

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