Cowboy Player: Cowboy Cocktail, Book 3 by Mia Hopkins Page A

losing his temper or both.
    She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Clark. For everything. I’m happy about the contract.”
    He watched her as she walked up the steps, unlocked the front door and disappeared inside.
    Yeah , he thought to himself, almost sick with sadness. Who needs a fucking heart anyway?
    * * * * *
    Another two weeks passed.
    As promised, Lucky showed up at noon with the moving van, and Clark arrived in the truck shortly thereafter. Harmony had no problem imperiously bossing around the two big cowboys as they loaded the van with all of her furniture and boxes without complaint.
    By one o’clock, the van was full and the boys were hot and sweaty. Melody poured everyone a big glass of iced tea and they sat on lawn chairs in the shade of the trailer, listening to the buzz of insects in the midday heat.
    “Your electricity will be on when you arrive, right?” Melody asked. “And your landline?”
    “Electricity only,” Harmony replied, crunching on the ice cubes in her glass. “I’m not getting a landline.”
    “You have the keys? And your assigned parking space in the complex?”
    “It’s all taken care of. Jeez. Calm down, will you?”
    Melody sighed. “Just making sure. I want everything to go smoothly for you.” A hot breeze blew through the eucalyptus grove in her neighbor’s yard. She’d just taken a shower but her hair was already almost dry. In two hours, she’d be starting her shift at the Silver Spur.
    “I’m so glad I don’t have to drive to Bakersfield every day anymore,” Harmony said. “That got old real fast.”
    “How often are you planning on coming back, Harm?” Clark asked. He’d taken off his sweaty T-shirt and hung it on the back of the chair. Melody tried not to stare, but it was impossible: all that golden-brown muscle, glistening in the sun.
    Harmony shrugged. “Maybe once a month. Depends on the shifts I get at the hospital.”
    “Let us know if you’re in town Labor Day weekend. Mom wants you both to come to the house for a barbecue. You too, Lucky.”
    “Only if there are illegal fireworks and free-flowing Fireball,” said Harmony. She winked at Lucky, who grinned like a lovesick fool.
    Melody cleared her throat. “We’ll let you know,” she said to Clark.
    “Good.” Clark took a long drink. Drops of condensation from his glass landed on his abs and gathered in the creases of his six-pack. Melody blinked and forced herself to look away.
    After a little more sisterly nagging and a quick hug, Harmony hopped into her hatchback, Lucky got in the van, and together they drove off honking. As the cars faded off in the distance, Melody stood on the lawn, arms crossed, remembering what it was like to start a new adventure like the one Harmony was about to face. She herself had left for San Diego at eighteen. She never would’ve guessed she’d be right back here, ten years later, her own adventure fizzled out and dead.
    She didn’t hear Clark come up behind her. He rested his big hands on her shoulders and gently began to massage her. His touch was warm and sure. Despite the alarms in her head about his proximity, Melody relaxed. Tension drained slowly out of her body and she let her head and arms go slack.
    “You did good, Mel,” he said. “She may not be grateful, but I know how hard it’s been on you.”
    That voice. God. Commanding her in the dark. Telling her his secrets. She could listen to Clark talk forever. It had been fifteen days since they’d slept together for the last time. Her dreams were still full of him—his body, his touch, and most of all, his voice.
    She turned around to face him. She was wearing a tank top, cut-offs, and flip-flops. The sun burned her bare skin, as did the way Clark’s eyes skittered over her body as he tried not to stare. Unspoken attraction crackled between them, dry tinder for a fire. She had to be careful. Their friendship had taken such a beating that even now, she couldn’t look him in the