Lainie’s voice was whisper soft when she finally spoke. “Know what’s sad?”

“What?”

“I don’t know what to do with myself on this trip. It’s been so long since I’ve had free time that I honestly don’t remember what I used to do when I didn’t have to fill the hours with work.”

“That’s not sad, Lainie; that’s life.”

“What do you do when you have free time?”

“Sometimes after we get chores done, Abe, Celia, and I target shoot. Or we hang out and watch TV or movies. Head to the bar and play pool or darts with the guys. We do a lot of ranch-related stuff; seems like the work is never ending.”

“But I mean when you’re by yourself. Do you read? Or whittle? Or craft things out of leather?”

Hank snorted. “Not hardly.”

Lainie propped her chin on her hand and looked at him. “When I was taking care of my grandma, she told me a woman has to have interests of her own. Not just the ones that please her husband or her kids.”

“Did she follow her own advice?”

She smiled. “Oh, Grandma was great at handing out advice, especially if you didn’t ask for it. She was good at traditional things. She knitted. Embroidered. Sewed. Did crossword puzzles and word searches. Made her own soap. Grew her own vegetables. Planted flowers and fruit trees. She started out having to can and freeze foodstuff if she wanted to feed her family. But it became more. Something she enjoyed and took pride in.”

“Didn’t you want to learn to do any of that?”

“I did learn a lot of it. But it’s not . . . portable. I can’t drag ripe fruit, jelly jars, paraffin wax, and an enamel pot with me to whip up a batch of jam. I never really ‘took’ to sewing and embroidery, as she used to say. I loved working with her in the garden. But again, not something I can do either at my apartment complex or on the road. Been a long time since I did any word searches, but I sure loved them. I’d buy us identical books and we’d have races to see who finished first.”

He stroked her back, letting her get it out.

“I feel . . . displaced. And not because I’m bored traveling. This feeling has been building for a while now, and I was too busy to think about it before. But now that I’ve got time on my hands . . .”

“It’s all you can think about.”

“Exactly.”

Hank almost wished they wouldn’t have to hurry from Billings to Red Lodge for tonight’s performance. After the Red Lodge rodeo ended they’d be back on the road, headed to Miles City, leaving them no time to play tourist. Lainie knew what she’d signed on for—rodeo cowboys hitting a whirlwind of events, and in between the arena performances were the lonely miles of blacktop.

But he wanted to give her one real vacation day, where they could hang out, relax, and not have to worry about busting balls to get to the next event.

So whisk her off someplace on your own. You’re not doing this Cowboy Christmas for yourself; you’re doing it for Kyle.

That wasn’t entirely true. Hank needed to square off with as many bulls as possible to nail his EBS audition.

A brilliant idea pinged in his head. There was a place on this route—or close enough to it—where he could take Lainie for a day and night of R & R. A secluded cabin outside Great Falls. A cabin that boasted all the amenities of a fancy hotel, but without the people. His buddy Devin had given him an open invitation to use it whenever, so he’d have to call and make sure the cabin was available.

“You’re acting serious, Hank. I didn’t mean to bring you down.”

He smooched her forehead. “You’re not. I’m just trying to come up with a response that don’t sound flip.”

“And what have you come up with?”

“Not a damn thing.”

She laughed softly.

“It’ll be good for you to take the time to think, not just for the short term, but maybe with an eye to making some changes when you get back to Colorado.”

“You are so smart.” She wiggled up his chest for a better angle to kiss him. Sweetly. Lazily. Not without passion, but without urgency. As if the feel and the fit of his mouth moving on hers were satisfaction enough.

Except it wasn’t enough for his cock, which rose to the occasion promptly. He knew Lainie couldn’t help but notice the erection digging into her hip.

She broke the seal of their mouths and murmured, “Hank, if you want we can—”

“Ignore it. Just an automatic reaction to you, darlin’. Not everything has to do with sex. I like bein’ with you. Holding you like this. Nothin’ else needs to happen, okay?”

“Okay.” She snuggled deeper into him.

Hank felt her contentment and could’ve stayed wrapped up in her softness and sweet need all day, but duty called. “Much as I hate to leave, I’ve gotta shave, clean up, and get to the grounds.”

“Thanks for listening and not thinking I’m some kind of whiny drama queen.”

“Never even crossed my mind.”

Lainie opted to hang out in the camper during the rodeo. That didn’t sit right with Hank. Especially in light of their conversation about her restlessness.

Neither Hank nor Kyle was a spill-his-guts kind of guy, but they were smart enough to recognize something was up with Lainie.

They hung on the fence away from the contestant area, watching the tie-down roping. Kyle smacked the end of his bull rope into the wooden post. “What do you think is goin’ on with her?”