One Texas Cowboy Too Many (Burnt Boot, Texas #3)(80)

“How?” Leah asked.

“A bullet right between the eyes. His horns are on my cycle and when I got out of the neck brace and got the cast off my wrist, I got the tat on my arm. It’s to remind me every day to be thankful that I’m alive. To remember that when one door closes, another one opens, and not to take a damn thing that comes into my life for granted,” he said.

“That’s poetic and romantic,” she said. “Why is it a third-date story?”

“I don’t want a woman to go out with me a second time out of pity. I want to woo them with my charm.”

She covered his hand with hers. “I don’t think many women would pity you.”

“Well, I’m not taking any chances,” he said.

“I have a question,” she said.

“About the horns.”

“No, about the visit you had on Wild Horse yesterday.”

“Ask away,” he said.

“What happened?”

“I had dinner and escaped.”

“Escaped?”

The waitress brought their food and drinks and asked, “Anything else?”

“Not right now,” Rhett said.

She went on to take orders from a couple sitting at a table on the other side of the room, and Leah repeated the question. “Escaped?”

“That’s what it felt like. I felt trapped at that place with Betsy on one side and Naomi on the other. Then there was the meeting with Polly and Gladys, and I didn’t know if they were going to toss me off Fiddle Creek or what,” he said.

Leah removed the top bun from her sandwich and poured barbecue sauce on the meat. “Is that when Polly offered to sell you her ranch? Are you going to change the name?”

“Yes and no. I like the name fine. Had no idea its real name was Double Shot Ranch, but I like it, and she’s even going to let me keep the brand. We have to do some paperwork, but as of the first day of September, the ranch is mine.”

“Did Betsy make a move on you?”

“No, she made several, and then she kissed me, and it did not create sparks like it does when you kiss me,” he said.

Leah could feel anger and jealousy mixing in her veins, and it wasn’t a pretty feeling. Just one time, fate could be kind enough to give her a chance to knock that redhead square on her ass. She was seething already when she looked up and there was Tanner Gallagher coming right at their table. He was dressed in his Sunday best. Starched and creased jeans, boots polished to a shine, belt buckle gleaming in the dim light, and a pale blue shirt with pearl snaps. Bad luck followed her around like a hungry puppy.

“Dammit! I swear he’s stalking me.”

“Who?” Rhett asked.

Tanner’s eyes were glued on Leah, and his smile was wide, and it looked sincere and genuine—but then a wolf in sheep’s clothing didn’t look too dangerous either, now did it? He laid a hand on Leah’s shoulder and said softly, “Leah, darlin’, I thought that was your truck out there in the parking lot. I went to the bar, hoping you would be there. I overheard Honey talking about you moving away from River Bend. I was heartbroken that you didn’t call me to help you. I drove out to Polly’s, but you weren’t there. Imagine my surprise to see your truck sitting right outside the very place I was coming in to have some supper.”

Leah shrugged his hand away.

“We’re having dinner here, Tanner,” Rhett said.

Tanner barely glanced his way before dropping down on one knee. The red velvet box appeared in his hand as if it came from thin air. He popped it open to reveal a diamond half the size of Rhett’s thumbnail that sparkled like a lit up crystal chandelier.

Lord, have mercy! That thing was the gaudiest damn ring she’d ever seen. Sure it was sparkly and glittered in the light, but a woman would be afraid of being mugged if she wore the thing. What was he trying to prove anyway, showing up with a ring like that?

“I’m tired of playing games, Leah. I want you to know how serious I am and how much I love you. Will you marry me? We can have a long engagement and get married next summer, after your school year is over. And I can help move you to Wild Horse tonight. You deserve so much more than that little house of Polly’s,” he said.

When she didn’t answer, he went on. “We’ll have a honeymoon on an island that caters to our style of life, since I know you like the beach. And I’ll build you a proper home between now and then, that we can come home to after our honeymoon. Until then, Granny says you can have a room at the main house.”

“Are you crazy?” Leah asked.

“Crazy in love with you, and I don’t want you to make the mistake of your life with this hippie cowboy.” Tanner continued to grin like he expected her to throw her arms around him and say that she would marry him. Well, it would snow a foot in hell when she did that, even if he proposed in a very private place with a ring the right size for a teacher.

“No. The answer is no,” she said. “Now get up and go away.”

Tanner snapped the box shut, the noise causing several people to look their way. When he stood up, he bent and kissed Leah on the forehead. “This is only the first proposal. I have lots more, and I will use them all. You’ve seen the ring, and you know I mean what I say. I will never give up.”

“Tanner, the answer will never be yes,” she said.