Hot Cowboy Nights (Lucky Penny Ranch #2)(13)

She caught a whiff of the remnants of his shaving lotion from that morning, a touch of bacon and coffee that he’d eaten for breakfast, combined with all that manly sweat. It turned her on like a hot water faucet.

The farce was set in motion now and by tonight it would be like a giant boulder gathering speed as it rolled down the side of a steep mountain. She stole glances of Toby heading toward the back door as she wrote up Lucy’s ticket. That tight little swagger and knowing what it looked like without jeans covering his butt put two spots of high color in her cheeks.

“I’m worried about you, girl. Steam is going to come out Sharlene’s ears. If I was you, I’d steer clear of her until she settles down. She missed out on Blake and she’s had her heart set on Toby.” Mary Jo pushed back a wayward strand of burgundy hair and unloaded her jackets onto the counter. She was a beauty operator and changed the style and color of her hair even more often than she changed her under britches.

Lizzy sacked Lucy’s purchases. “Don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

Liar, liar, pants on fire. Complete with an orchestra in the background, the lyrics of the old children’s song played on a continuous loop through her mind.

“Going for ice cream doesn’t mean she’s going to marry the man, Mary Jo. But she does need to get some distance between her and Mitch before he comes back for the reunion,” Lucy said.

“From a saint to a sinner.” Mary Jo sighed. “But I got to admit, I’d rather be a sinner as a saint when I compare Mitch and Toby.”

“I didn’t ever believe that Mitch was a saint. And that cowboy might have one wing in the fire but that don’t mean he’s all the way into hell. Lizzy might turn him around the way Allie did his brother.” Lucy signed the ticket and handed it to Lizzy. “I remember back nearly fifty years ago when I wanted to date a wild boy. His name was Herman Hudson and my mama almost had a heart attack over it. But I was in love with that blue-eyed boy and…” She hesitated and lowered her voice. “He might have gained sixty pounds and he might be old but them blue eyes can still make me want to haul him to the bedroom.”

“Lucy!” Mary Jo covered her cheeks with her hands.

“Darlin’, old don’t mean dead,” Lucy said. “And Lizzy, you have fun with that cowboy. He might not be settlin’-down material, but darlin’, I’d bet my checkbook that he’ll wash that sorry Mitch right out of your heart.”

“News flash,” Lizzy whispered. “Mitch is already gone from my heart.”

“You know that. We know that. Now it’s time for Mitch to know that.” Lucy picked up her bags. “I’m on my way to Nadine’s for a cup of coffee. You want me to hold off tellin’ her the news till you get there, Mary Jo?”

Mary Jo nodded. “Thanks, Lucy. I want to see her face when she hears this and Sharlene is there.” She pulled several bills from her purse and laid them on the counter. “You are playin’ with fire, Lizzy. And that means you could get burned.”

“Yep, but I reckon I’ve got whole shelves full of stuff that will cure burns on cattle, dogs, cats, and even hamsters in this store. It might work on a human,” Lizzy teased.

Mary Jo stuffed the change from her purchases back into her purse. “He’s only dating you because y’all are thrown together by family so much. He’s a bad boy and you, darlin’, are not a bad boy’s type. Sharlene is but you are definitely not.” She picked up her sack and left the store.





Chapter Five



Toby refilled his bowl with chili and added a layer of grated cheddar cheese on the top. Despite having known Lizzy in the most intimate ways possible during their hot and heavy fling, he was as nervous as he’d been on his first date back when he was sixteen.

Toby certainly had not expected to be tangled up in drama like this when he came to Dry Creek almost a month before. If anyone had told him that he would be taking Allie’s sister on a fake date and he would not be chasing bar bunnies for at least five weeks, he would have had them committed. Yet here he was, doing just that.

“Are you sure about this? I’ve already had a dozen phone calls telling me that I’m insane for letting Lizzy go anywhere with you. After all, she was engaged and almost married to a preacher.” Allie passed the corn bread around the table.

Deke took the plate from her and handed it off to Toby. “Sorry son of a bitch wasn’t a preacher. He’s a gold digger with a god complex. And Allie, if Lizzy wanted to date Toby as in the real sense of the word, there wouldn’t be a damn thing anyone could do about it. She’s even more headstrong than you are and that’s saying a lot. So you ain’t lettin’ her do jack shit. She will do whatever she wants to do.”

Blake took two pieces of the warm bread and crumbled it into his chili. “I’m speaking from experience here, brother. Getting close to a woman, no matter if it’s real or not, can backfire.”

Allie slapped Blake on the arm. “I wasn’t pretending to like you.”

“Yes, you were.” Deke chuckled. “No, I take that back. You were pretending not to like him but we could all see that you did.”

Allie’s dark eyes sparkled when she looked at Blake. She was so damn much in love with Blake that it made Toby’s heart yearn to have the same thing.