Elly: Cowgirl Bride by Trish Milburn Page B

she started weaving her way through the guests.
    Instead of making her way to Chester, however, she edged along the back of the crowd surrounding the dance floor, not making eye contact with anyone. She wasn’t in the mood for small talk. Laughter, music and the thump of boots on the wooden dance floor that had been pulled together for the occasion filled the barn.
    Elly found a less populated spot and leaned against the wall. She watched as the couples spun around and two-stepped like pros to the band’s enthusiastic playing of new and classic country tunes. She wanted to be among them—with Will.
    She couldn’t see him and Jesse from where she now stood, and maybe that was best. The pang of loneliness she’d experienced before the trail ride swamped her again. Not just for a man, but for the life she’d led before her world had tilted on its axis. And for Janie. Her absence weighed heavier now than it had even on the trail ride. Everything was just…wrong. And Elly was left feeling like she was grasping for something, anything to hold on to.
    “May I have this dance?”
    She almost thought she’d imagined the request, but when she looked to her side, there stood Will with his hand out, waiting for hers. The oddest sensation of being a princess at a ball enveloped her as she placed her hand in Will’s and let him lead her into the whirl of dancers.
    “So, lawyers dance, too?” she teased.
    He leaned close to her ear. “Men dance when there are pretty women to dance with.”
    Elly loved the delicious warmth those words sent through her.
    Will proved to be a good dancer, which made him even sexier. Even if he’d been atrocious, Elly didn’t think she’d care. Just being this close to him and having him touching her was enough.
    No, it wasn’t enough. But she wasn’t going to demand or hope for anything more because fate might decide she was greedy and take away this bright spot in her life.
    One song led into another, and Will didn’t show any sign of freeing her for any other partners. Her heart swelled at the same time her commonsense brain was telling her not to read too much into the situation.
    After one song ended, Chester pecked on Will’s shoulder. “Hey, pup. You’re hogging the prettiest girl in the place, and this little lady owes me a dance.”
    Will handed her off to Chester with a smile and a wink for her.
    “Got it bad, do ya?” Chester asked as she watched Will pair up with Delia.
    Elly returned her attention to her dance partner. “Just being neighborly,” she said in a halfhearted attempt at denial.
    “Uh-huh. My eyes ain’t that bad yet.”
    Elly realized Chester wasn’t the only one who’d noticed when she glanced toward Will. Delia played at wrapping her leg around him then laughed her infectious laugh.
    Elly’s brothers didn’t look as amused. Walker, a veteran of the war in Iraq, stared at Will like he wanted to toss him in a dungeon and try some interrogation tactics on him. Dex and Dusty just looked as if they wanted to put the fear of God in him. She didn’t dare try to find Jesse in the crowd.
    They all made her want to scream. When the song ended, she thanked Chester for the dance then made her way toward Will, not caring what anyone thought. She was an adult, and she could dance with whomever she wanted to.
    “I kept him warm for you,” Delia said as she backed away from her boss.
    Heat suffused Elly’s cheeks.
    “I’m going to dock your check for being ornery,” Will said.
    “No, you won’t.” With a little wave, Delia sashayed her way through the crowd, her shiny, deep-red bob swaying.
    The band struck up a slow song, and Will wasted no time pulling Elly into his arms, close. He was indeed warm, causing her to want to wrap herself in him. He smelled so deliciously male—musky, simple with a hint of the Wyoming outdoors. She found herself stepping even closer, inhaling, nearly laying her cheek against the fabric of his cream-colored shirt.
    She closed her