One Texas Cowboy Too Many (Burnt Boot, Texas #3)(44)

“What’s wrong?”

“You know me so well after only eleven days, it’s scary,” she answered.

“I told you it’s that extra hour and minutes that make the difference.” He covered her hand with his. “Leah, all love and relationships are dangerous. That’s what makes them exciting, but it also teaches both parties that they can trust each other in times of danger.”

“The path ahead of me looks pretty dangerous, all right.” She nodded.

“Sometimes you’ve got to get a machete and hack your way through the kudzu to make your own path in life.”

“You ever do that?”

He leaned across the console and kissed her on the cheek. “Yes, I have. Now let’s go get a burger.”

She left her mimosas on the seat and hoped the heat didn’t wilt them. She looked at them one last time and smiled. In her imagination, the bouquet morphed into a machete, ready to hack down the kudzu and create a path for her.





Chapter 14


The burger shop was booming, with only one table left, and it was at the back, close to the soda pop dispenser. While they stood in line, someone claimed that spot too, leaving Leah and Rhett with two choices—wait for a table or take it to go.

“What do you think?” Rhett asked.

“We’re parked under a shade tree and the whole bed is empty,” she said.

“Brazen lady, aren’t you?” Rhett grinned.

She raised an eyebrow.

“You offered to share supper with me in a bed, and it’s only our second date.”

Her green eyes twinkled long before the smile materialized. “I guess I did. Are you going to take me up on it, or are we going to wait for a table in here?”

“Oh, honey, I’d never refuse the offer of going to bed with you.”

“Rhett O’Donnell, you are the devil reincarnated,” she whispered.

They moved up in line. “I never have been accused of havin’ a halo or wings.”

She started to ask him if anyone had ever accused him of being sexy but clamped her mouth shut when Tanner and Betsy Gallagher pushed through the doors and lined up right behind them.

“What are you doing back in Texas? I thought you were on vacation in the big city,” Tanner said.

“I was.” She nodded.

He took a step forward and whispered, “Did you like the roses I sent? I’ve missed you so much, and I’m glad you are back home.”

Betsy slapped him on the shoulder. “Speak up and stop whispering. Anyone sees you making eyes at a Brennan, they’ll tell Granny. What are you saying to her?”

“That I wouldn’t have liked spending a whole week in a big city either,” Tanner answered.

Rhett turned around and said, “What brings y’all out of Burnt Boot today?”

“Granny sent us on a mission,” Tanner answered. “And y’all?”

“Rhett was kind enough to pick me up at the airport,” Leah said. She hoped their mission didn’t have anything to do with blowing up septic tanks or spreading any more shit in Burnt Boot.

“I thought you went with Honey and Kinsey,” Betsy said.

“I did, but I decided to come home early.”

“Are you crazy? If I had a week in New York City, you can damn sure bet I wouldn’t come home early,” Betsy said. “You hear about what your Granny did?”

“I heard that your septic company made a big mistake,” Leah said.

“Mistake, my ass. When we got ahold of them, they told us this big story about how we’d rescheduled, but we didn’t. You Brennans did this and you can bet your sorry ass we will get even,” Betsy said.

“If you had a scrap of evidence that my family had anything to do with that mistake, you’d already have Orville out on River Bend flashing his gun and cuffs,” Leah said.

“We don’t have to prove jack shit. We know, and you will pay for it,” Betsy said.

“And then you will after that,” Leah said. “Don’t you ever get tired of this feuding?”

“Not when I’ve had to smell shit for half a day, until the family came home from church and shoveled us out and fixed the electricity. I won’t be tired of it until I get even, so watch your back, Leah Brennan.”

“Is that a threat?” Rhett asked.

“I’d call it a promise,” Betsy said.

“Next,” the cashier said as she looked up at Rhett and Leah.

“I’ll have a burger with lettuce, tomatoes, jalape?o peppers, dill pickles, and mustard, and I want a big order of fries and a large drink,” Leah said.

“Double that and add cheese to mine,” Rhett said as he turned to face Tanner and Betsy. “It’s your turn. I’d say it was nice seein’ y’all, but I’d be lyin’.”

“Same here,” Betsy growled.

Rhett and Leah moved down the pathway made by stacked bags of potatoes to the drink machine and filled their cups. Then they went back to stand beside the door until their number was called.

Leah was sipping on a diet cola when Rhett nudged her shoulder and said, “I bet you’re ready to get away from the Gallaghers. Want to wait in the bed of the truck while I pick it up?”

“I’d love to,” she answered.