Slow Hand (Hot Cowboy Nights, #1)(42)

“Your mother drove her.” Allie gave a dismissive wave. “She said she needed to take care of some urgent business. Speaking of which, we have a new offer. The buyer’s come up another two hundred thousand!”

“The Broncos player?” Dirk asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “He’s really hot to have the place as a hunting retreat and even says he doesn’t care anything about the livestock. You’re free to sell it off and keep all the money!”

“How generous considering it’s my f*cking stock,” Dirk scoffed. “Tell him no deal.”

Allie’s jaw dropped. “What? Why?”

Dirk shrugged. “I don’t like the Broncos.”

“You are joking, right?” She cast a pleading look to Wade. “Please tell me he’s jerking my chain.”

Wade shrugged. “No can do. He probably means it.”

Allie recoiled. “But there are two others who have a say in this. Right, Wade? You’ll accept the deal, won’t you?” She added in a frosty undertone. “I busted my ass to put this back together. You won’t get another shot at this. I can promise you that!”

“Then you’ll just have to work on my father until I get back.”

“Get back?” Allie repeated dumbly. “What are you saying?”

“That I don’t have time to discuss this right now.”

“Look, Wade. I flew all the way from Denver for this!” she hissed.

“I’m sorry for your trouble, but the world doesn’t turn on your command, Allie. I’ve got personal business to see to. We’ll talk about this when I return.”

Wade handed his horse off to his brother. “Take care of Skoal, will you?”

Dirk’s scowl transformed to a smirk. “Sure thing, li’l bro. It’s no skin off my nose if you’re back to thinking with your prick.”





Chapter 12


Nikki checked into the Moriah Motel, a twelve-room lodge on Main Street in Sheridan. The motel had wireless Internet and cable TV, and was only half a mile from the funeral home—a double blessing, given her lack of transportation. Although she’d have to deal with Wade eventually, the more distance she could keep between them in the meantime, the better.

After unpacking a few things, Nikki’s stomach sounded a loud protest against two days of neglect. She’d only seen one restaurant when they drove through town, but it too was within walking distance. Hating to eat alone, and even worse, to become a subject of local speculation, Nikki called the Prospector Café to place a takeout order—a large burger with the works, beer-battered onion rings, a shake, and a slab of chocolate cake. Only a humongous caloric overload could even begin to soothe her hurt.

After hanging up the phone, she undressed for a much needed shower. She was in her bra and panties and had just turned on the tap when a knock sounded on the door. She froze with her heart in her throat. Wade? It was what she most wanted and most dreaded all at the same time.

Don’t be ridiculous, Nikki. Regardless of what his mother had said, he’d never come to Sheridan with Allie waiting for him at the ranch. Still, she peered through the peephole. Shit! It was him, leaning on the doorjamb, hat pulled down over his eyes, and looking like sin incarnate.

“Open the door, Nikki,” he said in a low voice. “We need to talk.”

Leaving the chain on, she flipped the dead bolt and opened only a crack. “Go away, Wade. There’s nothing to say.”

“The hell there isn’t!” he growled. “You left with some harebrained notions. We need to settle this. Now. C’mon. Open the door… Please.” He sounded angry and frustrated, but it was his pleading look that did her in.

“All right,” she sighed. “Just give me a minute, I’m not dressed.”

“Don’t go to any trouble on my behalf.”

She closed the door on a snort and pulled out the least provocative thing she owned—an oversized Georgia Bulldogs T-shirt. The frown on his face when she opened the door almost made her laugh. It also told her she’d made the right choice.

“Your ugly alma mater wasn’t quite what I’d hoped for.”

“Speak your piece, Wade. My shower and dinner are waiting.”

He doffed his hat and raked his hair. “Why’d you leave me like that?”

“Like what?” she asked, feigning indifference.

“Just slinking off like you did. I told you when I left with Dirk that we needed to talk about some things.”

“Things? What things? We spent a night together. It was a mistake, but it’s done. I just want to move past it now.”

“Damn it! If you’re put off because of Allie, I told you—it’s just business.”

“So you keep saying, but I got quite another impression.”

“All right,” he groaned. “I won’t say there was never anything between us, because there was. Past tense. But it wasn’t serious and it pretty much ended on this last trip of mine to Denver. If she insinuated anything different, she was just blowing smoke up your pretty ass.”

“Look, Wade, I appreciate your desire to set things straight, but it truly doesn’t matter to me. I came here to say good-bye to my dead father. That’s it. As soon as I settle things, I’m gone. I don’t want or need any complications.”