One Texas Cowboy Too Many (Burnt Boot, Texas #3)(52)

“Whoever you fall for, I will go to war for you, darlin’. Not even this feud is going to stand in the way of your happiness.”

“If you hate the feud, then why do you keep doin’ whatever Granny demands?” Leah asked.

“Because that damned Naomi was really ugly to Joyce when she found out about the affair. You know nothing stays a secret very long in Burnt Boot. Naomi created a problem for Joyce. I’ll do whatever I can to bring the Gallaghers down for that alone.”





Chapter 17


Betsy Gallagher pulled up a stool at the far end of the bar, raised her beer toward Leah, and smiled as if she knew something that Leah didn’t. Leah ignored her and polished off her shot of Jack on the rocks.

“Hey,” Jill yelled above the noise of a line dance on the wooden floor and the jukebox turned up to the max. “You want another one?”

She shook her head. “Not tonight. I can’t stay long.”

Jill moved out from behind the bar and cupped her hand over Leah’s ear. “Rhett won’t be in tonight.”

Leah nodded and mouthed, “He called me already.”

Betsy shot a dirty look her way as Leah left, but she ignored it, a blast of smoke and noise following her as she stepped out into the darkness. The moon and stars were covered by dark clouds.

Half expecting Betsy to come storming out of the bar to argue, she didn’t hurry to her bright red truck sitting at the back of the lot. Instead, she took her time, because if she couldn’t see Rhett, then a good old catfight might be the next best thing. She’d never been in a hair-pulling fight like Mavis and Naomi had gotten into at the store a few days before, but it might be fun to knock Betsy square on her ass.

Why can’t you see, Rhett? Nothing is keeping you from going to the Fiddle Creek bunkhouse to see him.

A broad smile covered her face and suddenly all thoughts of Betsy sitting on her stool and trying to rile her up disappeared. With a little extra bounce in her step, she quickly climbed into her truck. She started the engine and looked up to see a sheet of copy paper taped to her windshield. A big heart, drawn with a red crayon, covered the entire paper. “TG + LB” was written in the middle with a smaller heart drawn around each set of initials. The plus sign was in the middle, where the two hearts connected.

She got out of the truck and tore the paper off, but peeling the tape off was another matter. He must’ve used a steamroller to make sure the wind didn’t blow it away. She gave up trying to remove it and carried the paper over to Tanner’s truck. She ripped it into tiny little pieces and tossed it onto his windshield. The slope carried it down into the valley that kept the wipers out of sight. Hopefully, it would be raining when he came out and they would be smeared into his sight when he flipped on the wipers.

“That is stalking,” she mumbled.

That is doing what Naomi told him, the voice inside her head said loudly. This is a war, a stinky war, Leah. No one is nice, and every trick in the book is fair.

She got back into her truck and drove straight to Fiddle Creek, throwing up a cloud of dust behind her all the way to the bunkhouse. Dammit met her on the steps and walked beside her until she settled into a rocking chair. Then he put his head in her lap and rolled his eyes up at her.

“You are spoiled,” she said.

His tail wagged in agreement.

“Hey.” Rhett opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. His hair was wet and hung almost to his shoulders. A white tank top hugged his body like a glove and baggy pajama pants rode low on his hips.

“Am I seeing things? Is this a mirage?” He crossed the porch in his bare feet and sat down beside her in the other rocking chair.

“It’s not a mirage,” Leah answered.

Dammit moved from her over to Rhett.

“Fickle, isn’t he?” Leah said. “Did he learn that from you?”

“No, ma’am.”

She changed the subject. “Looks like rain.”

He reached across the distance and covered her hand with his. “I was about to call you, and yes, it feels like rain. I’m glad you came by.”

“Rhett…” she started.

“Leah…” he said at the same time.

“You go first,” he said.

“I feel awkward coming here uninvited.”

“You have a standing invitation, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week,” he said. “I was going to call you to ask you out on a real date, maybe dinner and a movie. I get my new truck next Monday. We could celebrate that and you finishing your first day of school.”

“I’d like that.” She smiled.

“Then I’ll pick you up at seven? And that will be our third date, right?”

She nodded. “I’ll be ready.”

“Your grandmother?”

“Will pitch a hissy, but I’m not going to think about that tonight.”

A clap of thunder sent Dammit whining to the door. A streak of lightning too close for comfort brought Rhett to his feet. Keeping her hand tightly in his, he led her inside the bunkhouse.

The minute the door was open, Dammit raced inside, curled up on the sofa with the two cats, and put his paw over his eyes.

“I’d like to do that too,” Leah whispered.

“Don’t worry, darlin’. I’ll protect you,” he said.