Having wealthy parents, I was always told to speak slowly and clearly around my father’s business associates, or my parents’ friends. Even though we were from the South, having a southern accent was very much frowned upon by my father. A well-educated woman would never say y’all. I did, more to spite them than anything. Well, and the fact that I loved how it sounded.
It was just another reason I was glad to be away from Georgia. Back then, anytime my mother called, it was usually to see if I was dating anyone yet, or if I could attend a fundraiser, or a wedding, or some other bullshit event where they wanted to put on airs for their peers and show off how great a family we were. The perfectly well-rounded, educated daughter. I was both those things, but somehow, I still lacked something in their eyes. Unfortunately, I had yet to figure out what that was.
I loved my parents, and I knew they loved me, but their money came in at a very close second to their daughter. Or maybe it was the other way around. I hadn’t figured out where I stood in the ranking.
“So, you asked me about myself. Is it my turn now?” I asked, taking a sip of my beer and loving the way the music pulsed through my body.
“Have at it, Kaylee. I’m an open book.”
I sat up a bit straighter and tilted my head some as I regarded him for a moment or two. “Okay, the most common one—why are you single? You’re handsome enough, nice body, hot job, pun intended.”
He laughed. “Well, I dated my high school sweetheart up until a year ago.”
My brows rose. “Wow. What happened?”
Channing shrugged. “She wanted a different life that didn’t include living in Hamilton. I wanted to be in Hamilton.”
“Was there no compromise?”
His eyes looked sad for a moment. “There was. I tried for a little while. Told her I would move to Billings. She had gotten a nursing job there. I lived there for about a year and hated it. She knew I wasn’t happy. So then I tried to commute. I work a split shift, so on my days off, I’d drive and stay with her in Billings.”
“That’s not too bad . . . it’s what, five hours or so?”
“About that, closer to six, but take into consideration our winters, and there were more times I was stuck here in Hamilton. So I looked into taking a position with the Billings Fire Department because, honestly, being with her was what I wanted. I got offered a job and asked Lauren to marry me. She was surprised and didn’t answer right away. That should have been my first warning sign. Then she said the words no man wants to hear after he’s just gotten down on one knee and asked a girl to marry him.”
“We need to talk?”
This time, Channing laughed. “Yep. Those words. She had met some doctor and didn’t mean for things to happen, but she was attracted to him and was wanting to see where it would take her. So, instead of getting married, we broke up.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, taking his hand in mine. “That must have been hard.”
He shrugged and reached for his beer with his free hand and took a drink. “It was, at first, but I got over it.”
“Do y’all still talk?”
“Nah, not really. I haven’t heard from her in about five or six months. It’s better that way. She got on with her life, and I’m doing the same.”
I nodded and took another drink. “How many women have you dated since?”
Channing looked directly at me and gave me a panty-melting smile. Lord, this guy knew how to make a woman’s body heat up. “Not many, maybe about four women. One was sort of long term, if you count five months as long term.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “Not when your last relationship lasted years!”
“That’s true.”
“Someone local?” I asked.
“Yeah, Nellie Kesler.”
My mouth fell open. “Nathan’s sister? Like, Nathan as in the city manager?”
“Do you know him?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, he attempted to date Lincoln, and he is a grade-A jerk. No, the better word to describe him is a manwhore.”
Channing tossed his head back and laughed. “That he is.” His eyes drifted past me. “Like the Shaw brothers.”
I tried not to let that statement get to me, but I couldn’t help but wonder why he would say something so inappropriate. Unless it was his not-so-subtle way of trying to warn me off of Ty.
“How about we take a spin on the dance floor?” I asked, needing to change the very touchy subject.
He stood and reached for my hand. “Let’s dance, cowgirl.”
And boy howdy, did we dance. Channing wrapped me up in his arms, and we took off two-stepping. The guy was good, and I found myself comparing him to Ty. Of course, Ty had a bum leg, but he was still an amazing dancer.