One Texas Cowboy Too Many (Burnt Boot, Texas #3)(26)

“And how are the other Brennans?” she finally asked.

“I don’t have to spell it out to you. I’d ask you to dinner, but…” He let another sentence hang.

“But Naomi would disown you like Granny would me if I even entertained notions of going with you.” She sat down in one of the children’s desks.

“We could keep it a secret until we see if we really do like each other,” he suggested.

A year ago, she would have said yes without blinking. Two weeks ago, she might have hesitated, but today, she shook her head slowly. She still had feelings for Tanner. Maybe she always would—but she couldn’t trust him. He was not only a Gallagher but he was the resident bad boy in Burnt Boot, the womanizer who chased anything in tight jeans and boots and who had a reputation for one-night stands.

“You like me. I like you. Why not? We’re grown adults, Leah.” He pushed the chair back and kneeled in front of her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Too fast, the voice in her head yelled. Something isn’t right here.

There was no pizzazz, not a single solitary spark dancing around her. It was nothing like what happened when Rhett looked out over the bar at her. And Tanner’s touch absolutely didn’t have a bit of the fizz that one of Rhett’s kisses created.

“Tanner, I can’t.”

He grabbed her hand and kissed the palm before he stood up. “I won’t give up. You’ve shown me a side of you that makes me like you even more these past few days and, Leah, I get what I want, one way or the other. Wanda just drove up. I’ll see you at the bar or at church, or I’ll call you. Number please?” He picked up a pen from her desk and held out his hand.

“I can’t. What if Granny answered the phone?”

“Your cell number, darlin’.” Tanner smiled.

“It wouldn’t be wise.”

“To hell with wise. But if you want to play it safe and let this be a big secret, I’ll go along with you. Tonight at the bar, I’ll slip you another phone, a private one for us to use.” He waved over his shoulder as he left the classroom. In a few minutes, she heard him talking to Wanda in the hallway.

Leah sat in stunned silence until her thighs were sticking to the wooden desk with sweat. What in the hell should she do now?

Yes, Declan, I used another swear word, but it is warranted. I’ve had such a big crush on Tanner for so long, but can I trust him? Rhett is a good man and I do trust him. However, I can’t have anything with either of them and continue to live at River Bend.

“Hey, it’s hot in here, girl. You should go home and come back in the morning when it’s cooler, and by the way, your room is looking great.” Wanda broke through her circling thoughts.

Leah smiled but it felt fake. “I was about to call it a day and go home.”

Home was the last place she wanted to be right then, but she didn’t know where else to go.

*

Later that night, she was standing in the middle of her bedroom with a phone in each hand. To her, it was symbolic of each cowboy that had come into her life. In her left hand was the one that she’d found in her purse when she’d left the bar that night. Tanner must have had an accomplice because he hadn’t been in the bar all evening.

“Which means I was right in thinking that there is something going on,” she whispered. “The whole family is using me as a means to get back at Granny.”

In her right hand was the phone she used every day. Granny didn’t like it when she called Rhett, when they were thrown together, or anything about him, but Leah had no doubts that he was honest.

She looked from the phone in her right hand to the one in her left and back again. “Last month, I didn’t even have the prospect of a relationship. Now I’ve got one cowboy too many,” she said.

She contemplated throwing the one in her left hand in the trash but she couldn’t. She’d liked Tanner for so long, and now there was a possibility. Then the damn thing rang, and it startled her so badly that she threw it against the wall. Her heart thumped and her stomach tightened up.

It was lying in pieces on the floor, and yet the blasted thing rang again. Maybe it would never be dead, like the feud—if she threw it in the river, maybe it would crawl back up on the bank and ring again.

Then she realized that it was the phone in her right hand ringing, and she quickly answered it, breathlessly and cautiously, “Hello?”

“Hey, you sound like you’ve been running. Did you go to the bar tonight?” Rhett asked.

“Only for a few minutes,” she said. “Long enough to drink half a bottle of beer before I got bored and came home.”

“Sorry I wasn’t there. Sawyer and Jill decided to manage it tonight and let me and the guys finish up hauling in one more load of hay. They’re calling for rain tomorrow night, but it’s for after midnight, so we don’t have to cancel the motorcycle ride,” he said.

“I’m still looking forward to it. Where are we riding to?” she asked.

“It’s a surprise, but don’t get all dressed up. Jeans and a long-sleeved shirt will do fine.”

“Long sleeves in this weather?” she asked.

“Bugs hurt pretty bad when they hit your bare flesh.” He chuckled.

“And I sure don’t want bug splatter on me when we get to wherever we’re going,” she said.