Holding You (Love Wanted in Texas 3)

Watching her eyes light up, she leaned forward and rested her chin on her hand and asked, “What kind of adventure?”

“It wouldn’t really be a surprise if I told you what kind of adventure it was, now would it.”

“Mmm . . . that’s true but I’d be willing to forego the surprise part of it.”

Laughing, I stood and held out my hand. “Come on, let’s get the second part of the evening started.”

Taking my hand, Lauren and I walked to the truck. “Oh wait, Colt what about all that stuff in the barn. Don’t we need to help them clean it all up?”

Shaking my head I kept walking. “Nope, I’ve got it all taken care of.” I’d worked the two weekends we’d been back home by hauling hay for one of my father’s friends. He paid me handsomely, even though I busted my ass working for him for four days. The money I made hauling and loading the hay I used to pay for this evening’s meal.

Opening my truck door, I helped Lauren in. Reaching across I pulled the seat belt around and buckled her in. “If I didn’t think your daddy might be watching I’d totally slip my hand up those shorts of yours.”

Licking her lips, Lauren squirmed in her seat. “Baby, are you horny?” I asked as I winked.

Glancing up at her house, Lauren looked back at me. Her eyes pierced mine and I could see just how much she wanted me when her blue eyes turned dark. “Just tell me we’ll be together tonight, Colt. I miss being with you.”

We’d only managed to make love twice since we had been home from college, mostly because I was splitting up my time between my father’s cattle ranch, and Scott’s breeding business. I wouldn’t change any of it though. I loved the work. It just kept me away from Lauren. Which really sucked. Tonight I planned on being with Lauren come hell or high water.

We drove along in silence for a bit before Lauren spoke. “We’re heading into town?”

“Yep.”

“Where to?”

Grinning, I kept looking ahead. I knew what she was doing. “You’ll see when we get there.”

Letting out a frustrated breath, she asked, “Have I been there before?”

Turning to her, I didn’t know the answer. It had never occurred to me that another guy might have thought of the same thing and taken her up there. I had almost taken Rachel once, but decided against it. I knew it was because I had always wanted to take Lauren. “I’m ah . . . I’m not sure. If you have, it wasn’t with me.”

Lauren’s eyebrows pinched together, as if the idea of being somewhere without me bothered her.

“Oh,” she said as she turned and stared out the front window. I could almost feel the anxiety practically pouring off of her.

“Have you been to this place with anyone else?”

“Nope.”

Peeking over to her, she was smiling.

We remained silent until I parked near the cities main water tower. Putting the truck into park, I reached into the backseat and grabbed the bag that contained everything I needed to complete this evening.

Glancing out the window, Lauren turned back to me. “W-what are we doing here? I thought we were going on an adventure.”

Giving her my best panty-melting smile, I nodded my head. “We are. There is a reason I told you to dress in sneakers, sweetheart.”

Jumping out of my truck, I jogged around it and stopped when I saw Lauren looking straight up. I wasn’t sure if it had clicked yet or not.

“Wow, look at the stars tonight. Even with the lights from town, you can still see the stars so good.”

Nope. She had no clue. Taking her hand, I walked over to the ladder. Pulling on my arm, Lauren attempted to get me to stop walking. “Colt. Oh my gosh no! We’ll get in trouble if we climb the water tower!”

Giving her a slight pull, I laughed. “No we won’t. Blake is working tonight and I gave him a heads up my truck would be parked here and that I was taking my girl on an adventure.” Blake was one of Luke’s best friends from high school. He was one of the sheriffs working for Mason County. And he owed me a favor. I saved his ass one night when his truck broke down and he wanted to take Colleen Mitchell out on a date. He begged to borrow my truck and I let him.

Stopping at the ladder, I held my hand out. “Ladies first.” I could see the excitement dancing in her eyes. Lauren started up the ladder as I followed. Once we got to the top, Lauren let out a gasp. “Wow, look at the stars from up here! It’s beautiful.”

Smiling, I dropped my head back. The light breeze blowing kept it cool, but not too cool. “Thank goodness you’re not afraid of heights,” I said with a chuckle.