* * * *
“Are you sure about this place? I mean, you spoke with Michael and he said this is where the Delite Warriors hang out?” Colton Banks asked his brother Evan.
“I’m sure.” Evan looked around the entranceway. “It sure is crowded.”
“I hate crowds. I hate people,” Colton barked as the feeling of anxiety slowly crept up the back of his neck. He was in the fucking desert too long. Hiding in holes, eliminating the enemy. He saw too much shit. That was hard for Evan to understand. But then again, he had his own sadness and issues to deal with.
“Look at this fucking line, Evan. We’re not getting in there for like an hour.” Colton was annoyed. He hated lines.
“What the hell are they doing? Giving away free shit.”
“Let me text Michael and see if he and Chad are here already. Their girlfriend works here, too,” he said.
A few minutes later they were walking up toward the front entrance as Michael had told Evan to do.
“He said some big guy named G-Force would be there and a woman named Ava.”
Colton immediately saw the big guy. He was blocking the entrance and trying to talk to two cowboys who wanted to enter. His eyes zeroed in on a potential situation but then moved to the platinum-blonde hair and sexy figure on some woman whose back was toward him. His chest tightened and instantly he wanted to see her face. He wondered if it was as good as the curves of her ass and tan thighs. She was wearing a royal-blue one-piece tank dress that reached her knees and black, sparkling high heels. As she raised her arms to help the big guy settle the cowboys down, he got a great view of her side profile. She was hot.
His brother gave him a shove.
“What’s wrong with you?” Evan asked then turned to follow Colton’s line of sight.
“Oh God,” Evan whispered just as the woman turned toward them. She was speaking into a black radio. He heard her say that everything was fine, and then she looked up toward Colton. She looked just as taken by the sight of him as he was by the sight of her. It was her. It was the crazy jogger from the woods.
She took a deep breath and walked toward them.
“Are you Colton and Evan?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Colton replied as he absorbed her beauty. She was absolutely gorgeous and way younger than his thirty-five years.
She didn’t seem to recognize him at all. Did she really not remember him? Shit, he felt like an asshole. He’d thought about her a few times since bumping into her in the woods. She was probably used to men checking her out. Great. This night was starting off wonderfully.
She pushed her long, platinum-blonde hair over her shoulder then turned behind her to make sure that the big guy had things covered.
“I’m sorry you had to wait. Michael said that you’re good friends of his. Welcome to Dixie Chix.” She stuttered a moment. Her eyes widened, and then just as quickly she smiled and looked toward Evan.
“Thank you,” Evan said, and thank God he did because Colton couldn’t speak. Never in his lifetime had any woman made him lose his ability to speak or affect him like this woman did. She was stunning and it surprised him that this was the same woman wearing the low cap and her hair tucked underneath when she was jogging.
He was grateful when she signaled for them to follow her through the crowd, and not only because he didn’t have to try and speak, but because he could get another view of her gorgeous body. She was sexy, classy, and very professional. The way she held the clipboard in her hands and directed them through the club was impressive. He almost felt insecure and as if a soldier like him wouldn’t be good enough for a breathtaking woman like her. Colton had been more comfortable when they were both sweating and alone in the woods than he was now, with her decked out.
Then he remembered his attitude toward her and her response to his orders. He had been kind of abrupt and bossy when he reprimanded her for being alone in the woods. Damn, did she tell him off. He really must have aggravated her for her not to even acknowledge him. She was more than likely stuck-up to boot. He shook his head. He must have lost some of his brain cells lying low in the desert sand.
Colton spotted Michael and Chad immediately. He gave his brother a tap on the shoulder, noticing that Evan was staring at the woman’s backside and assisting her by holding her elbow as they made their way toward Michael and Chad. She pulled from his brother’s assistance and gave hi
m a look over her shoulder. She was tough and probably had men grabbing at her all the time. The thought immediately angered him.
“There they are!” Michael yelled as he pulled Colton into a bear hug, and Chad hugged Evan and slapped him on the back. They then switched and greeted one another until a pretty little blonde woman with a great body walked over. Michael wrapped his arm around her waist and introduced her as his woman, Alexa.
“This is Alexa, our girlfriend and a Dixie Chix.”
“Congratulations, friend. What do you mean by Dixie Chix?” Evan asked as he shook Alexa’s hand hello.
“My friends and I own the place. There are seven of us. You just met Ava, she’s a Dixie Chix, too,” Alexa informed them, and Colton turned to see where the gorgeous blonde had disappeared to. He caught sight of her outfit and stunning hair immediately. She was trying to make her way through the crowd, but three big, tall cowboys were talking with her. He waited to make sure she was okay. When she started walking away, she shook her head in annoyance while the three men watched her ass and one licked his lips as he nodded.
“So, how does it feel to be out finally and to also own your own ranch?” Chad asked Colton and Evan.
Colton turned around to engage in conversation with his friends. He hadn’t seen them in about four years.