Crossroads (Chance City Series Book Three) by Deeter Robin

Author:Deeter, Robin [Deeter, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2016-05-28T04:00:00+00:00

*****

“I can’t do this,” Carly said, turning around.

Ray took her by the shoulders and made her face Benny’s again. “Yes, you can. We’re just going dancing. You’re a great dancer.”

Carly groaned and almost stamped her foot. “Not this sort of dancing, Ray. I don’t know many of these people.”

Ray said, “I feel the same way whenever I go to one of those boring parties of yours, but you don’t hear me whine about it. You gotta get to know my friends, too. I’ve gotten to know some of yours and they’re not bad. You’ll find the same thing with mine.”

Closing her eyes for a moment, Carly called on her considerable inner strength and quelled her butterflies. Reopening them, she said, “You’re right. It’s only fair. Besides, it’s bound to be much more fun than the usual functions I attend.”

“Thatta girl. Let’s go have a good time, Mayor Branson.”

Ray offered her his arm and she took it, smiling up at him as they went inside.

When Benny saw Carly, he almost dropped a bottle of whiskey in shock. The mayor wasn’t known to frequent saloons and she’d never set foot in his establishment before. He gave Ray a wide-eyed stare, silently telling Ray that he was crazy for bringing Carly in there.

“Benny, I think you know this lovely lady here,” Ray said, grinning.

Benny nodded. “I certainly do. Mayor Branson, it’s good to see you, ma’am.”

Carly gave him a practiced conspiratorial smile. “I’m not the mayor tonight. I’m here to kick up my heels a little, so just call me Carly.”

Ray and Benny exchanged surprised looks.

Recovering, Benny said, “Well, you came to the right place. What can I get you to drink?”

“Whiskey,” Carly answered promptly, enjoying Ray’s unbelieving expression.

Benny gave her a shot, which she downed quickly. She handed her glass back to Benny, requesting a refill.

Ray got a beer and steered her away from the bar. “You might want to take it a little easy.”

She shot him an annoyed glace. “Don’t worry. I won’t get fall down drunk. I’m just loosening up a little. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“But nothing. Show me how to do that dance,” she demanded, motioning towards the dance floor.

Ray grinned. “All right. You asked for a good time. I’m gonna show you one.”

He took her hand and led her to the dance floor. Carly put her fear of embarrassment aside and concentrated on the steps Ray showed her, determined to master the dance. It didn’t take her long and soon she was enjoying herself, even when she made a misstep. She laughed with Ray and started talking to the other dancers.

Cotton cut in on their dance, which set off a chain of men who wanted to dance with Carly. Much to his consternation, Ray lost his dance partner for several songs. However, he also enjoyed watching Carly have a good time. He loved hearing her laugh and seeing her smile: two things she didn’t do enough.

Ray knew she was under almost constant pressure of one sort or another and he wanted to give her a respite from it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.