PASSION COWBOY STYLE – Chapter 1
Jenna’s fingers trembled over the numbers on her phone. She pressed each one carefully, double-checking to make sure she didn’t misdial. It
had taken her weeks to finally get the courage to call him. After friending each other last summer, they’d only recently graduated to emails from private messages on their profile. His invitation by email was the catalyst to pick up the phone and reach out to him. It had been easy to hide behind emails and a computer screen, talking in person was another matter altogether.
“This is Chet.”
Jenna’s heart flip-flopped when she heard his voice for the first time. It was liquid honey and, oh ya, he had a drawl that sent tingles rushing along the backs of her arms. She forgot to say anything for a moment and gripped the phone in both hands. She’d managed to quell her instinctive caution long enough to dial his number. It had been a risk and now he was at the other end of the phone line. He spoke again.
“Hello?”
“H-hiya, cowboy.” Did her voice just croak? Nice.
There was a momentary pause at the other end and then he said her name, in a hushed, almost awed tone she could have sworn held a smile.
“Jenna. It’s about time you called.”
She smiled into the phone. “Well, your invitation deserved an in-person phone call, not just a reply by email.”
“Ah, woman, I’m glad you finally did call me. So, do you ski?”
She sighed. “No, I don’t ski. In the sixth grade I fell on the rope tow and couldn’t get up, it was embarrassing.” His invitation to visit and ski arrived a few days ago. Jenna didn’t know how to reply to it and let it percolate until she’d made her decision. She’d vowed never to go near the slopes again. Yet, suddenly the urge to learn how and soar through the white powder burned a hole in her belly. She wanted to ski…with him. “What do you have in mind, cowboy? And where?”
Holy shit, did she put that out there? Yep, she had.
“I was thinking Vail.” Vail. Jenna’s mind raced around the possibilities and his sexy voice made her focus on him. “How’s your schedule looking? I think it’s time we meet. Don’t you?”
Jenna flipped open her planner—she still did some things the old-fashioned way—and quickly scanned through the dates, trying to find something open. Nothing until January.
“I’m not good until January.”
“January is great. It’d be nice to meet you sooner, but you’re worth the wait. This is like a courtship. Long distance by letters and phone.” He lowered his voice and it wrapped around her like a silky blanket. “I’m looking forward to finally meeting you, darlin’.”
“You do have a way with words.” There was something different and intriguing about him. Otherwise she never would have entertained the thought of jetting off to meet him. His easygoing nature reached right through the phone and calmness settled around her, shielding her like a comforting veil from her chaotic and stressful world. And the way he said darlin’ was sexy beyond words. She wondered how many times he’d used it on other women. Jenna shook her head and decided that’s not what was important right now, she had the chance for a booty call and decided she would take advantage of it. Suddenly she wished she could clear some time earlier but it was no good and she’d have to wait.
She loved the flutter of excitement beginning to swell in her chest. Jenna smiled to herself. He was quite the charmer and it’d be easy to get caught up in his flirtations, but she’d been burned too many times to let him get under her skin that easily. Sexy cowboy he may be, but she’d keep her guard up. She told herself there was nothing wrong with a little fling. She was a mature woman and could handle it.
“Ah, I’m just trying to convince you to come and live in the moment.”
His words struck a chord with Jenna. She’d been feeling the need to unleash her tight control on life a while now. Have some fun, throw caution to the wind. Go with the flow and all. Hearing him say the words she’d been thinking gave her the resolve to firm up the decision.
“I wasn’t quite expecting an invite like this, but I must say, it sounds fun and tempting.” She paused, not wanting to sound too eager. “I don’t ski and will need a bunny hill or at the very least lessons. I think I might be better at après ski than actual skiing.”
His laugh slipped around her and she closed her eyes, enjoying the erotic tingle that trilled through her. He was so much better to talk to on the phone rather than by email and she knew he would be even better in person.
“Well that, darlin’, can be arranged. I am happy to offer my services as instructor.”
Jenna was quite sure he would be willing to offer other services as well. Ones she would be quite willing to accept. She smiled when a spark of desire fluttered in her belly.
“Oh I bet you’d be a great instructor.” She was flirting with him and loving every minute of it. It had been so long since she’d flirted and teased.
“You can let me know what ya think when you get down here. So what day looks good for you to fly out?”
Gee, he wasn’t wasting any time to get this booked. Jenna briefly wondered if she should postpone a commitment and then wondered why she’d want to do that anyway. She’d called him and she really did want to go. Live in the moment as he called it.
“Probably late January.” She was pretty clear for the last half of the month.
“Perfect. Just before the February blahs.”
“Huh?”
“What better place to shuck the blahs than out West skiing?”
“Oh, I don’t really think about the blahs.”
“Well that’s a mighty good thing. But either way, if you had the blahs we could fix that out here.”
“How?”
“Now that, woman, is my responsibility. You’ll see how a little bit of Western hospitality and romance can chase the blahs away.”
“Really, cowboy? Time will tell won’t it?” She enjoyed their banter but a long-ago and painful memory she’d managed to keep in the dark recesses of her mind bubbled up. Not now! The last thing she wanted to muddy her thinking was the tragedy that happened around her birthday. Which just happened to be on February 4, right smack in the middle of when she’d be there.
“That it will.” He sounded confident, but she knew better than him her feelings about romance and love. It had never lived up to her expectations and truly sucked. She’d decided she’d do her best to keep her birthday date off the radar.
Chet held the phone to his ear, waiting to see if she came back with a rebuttal. Nothing. What girl didn’t like romance? Not many he knew of and most used it as an excuse to wheedle treats and trinkets out of their guy.
She was still quiet. Had he moved too fast and made her uncomfortable? He thought about every word he’d just said and he didn’t think he’d been overly pushy or aggressive. Just upbeat and encouraging. Chet had considered the skiing invitation for days before finally asking her. It wasn’t something he did on a regular basis, invite women out to see him. He’d given this a lot of thought and weighed all the pros and cons. It was the perfect time of year for him to escape the demands of the ranch and business.
He’d been told he was a catch and Chet had brushed off most of the ladies who pursued him. They only wanted one thing—his money. He liked that Jenna didn’t know about him, his heritage and the old family money. His marriage ended ten years ago when the kids were young. He’d never met anyone who made him want to reconsider a commitment after the debacle with his ex. Until now.
“Don’t sound so confident, cowboy. I’m a hard sell when it comes to romance and as long as you know that up front, we’re good.”
“Why? What’s got you all fussed about it?”
She was quiet again and he waited for her to answer. If she didn’t, he’d leave it and get to the bottom of it when she got here in February.
“Let’s just say it’s always been a l-let down.”
Her hesitation told him all he needed to know and it only fired up his resolve to kill her with romance. He was stunned by how powerful his feelings were for her and they hadn’t even met yet. It was strange he felt such an affinity, having never heard her voice until now. All of their conversation had been by email. He was a fairly good judge of character and he knew she was playing with him. Teasing him with her sensuality. He smiled, wanting to see her playful side again and steered the conversation away from romance.
“You just haven’t been around the right kinda guy.”
Her laugh was like music to his ears.
“I suppose coming all the way to see you would do just that eh?” He heard the humor in her voice and was glad she’d slipped back into her teasing vixen persona.
“Yes it sure would. I’ll have no problem showing you a good time.”
It was a relief to converse with someone who accepted him for just being him. Through her emails, Jenna exuded a fun and carefree attitude that attracted him. He enjoyed her teasing and flirting and was more than pleased to hear it in the tone of her voice.
Lately he’d been thinking about taking their teasing a bit further. Long-distance relationships were hard to establish, let alone maintain. How should theirs be classified since they’d never met and only communicated online? That’s why it made perfect sense to him for an in-person meeting.
“So which airport do I fly into?”
“Denver, and don’t you be worrying your pretty little head about the details. I’ll be there to collect you. All I need to know is the time and airline.”
Good Lord she was sexy as hell too. He’d gazed at her profile pictures over and over again and liked what he saw. Thinking about her face looking out from the computer screen warmed him. Her long auburn hair blew across her face and sparkly green eyes showed her zest for life. He’d gazed at her full lips smiling at him in the image and imagined what they’d be like to kiss.
Now after talking with her he had a little more insight. She seemed down to earth, natural, maybe a little bit complicated. He was encouraged she’d agreed to meet, and hoped it could lead in a positive direction.
He’d had his fill of fake women and gold diggers. Jenna didn’t come across like that. Of course he could be completely wrong about her. Anyone can create a false persona online. It was the risk you took meeting people over the internet.
“Well, cowboy, it’s not cheap flying down to Denver. I just had a quick look at some flights.” She hesitated a brief moment and he waited to see what she was going to say next. “What about accommodation cost? I’ll need to factor that in too.”
“Don’t worry about the accommodation, I have more than enough room at my place. If you need help with the airfare just let me know.”
There was a prolonged silence at the other end of the phone and Chet winced. How must that have sounded to her? Pompous? Presumptuous? If she changed her mind now thinking he was a player, he wouldn’t be surprised in the least.
“A place, eh? In the mountains?” She continued with a lowered voice that rang sex appeal if ever he’d heard it. “I think I’m looking forward to seeing it.”
“I’ll call you in a few days to see how you make out.”
“You don’t have my number.”
“Yes I do. Display.”
“Okay, cowboy. Call me in a few days then.”
The phone clicked in his ear when she disconnected.
Yep, Chet was smitten with his lady from the northeast. From Canada, no less!
